Crimson Twilight
by Mystery002
Summary: The painfulness of solitude can drive anyone towards the need for acknowledgment, even in the eyes of evil. No matter how much hatred and sadness they buried it under, Sonic and Shadow's friendship remained. Sequel to In the End.
1. In the Beginning

**CRIMSON TWILIGHT**

_The painfulness of solitude can drive anyone towards the need for acknowledgment, even in the eyes of evil. No matter how much hatred and sadness they buried it under, Sonic and Shadow's friendship remained. Sequel to In the End._

**Previously in _In The End_**

Three years ago, Mephiles appeared to Shadow revealing to him a cryptic truth of what really happened on ARK fifty years before. According to Mephiles, he still had not uncovered all of his memories, and that G.U.N. was not responsible for the murders of Maria and the professor. The phantom restored Shadow's memories, revealing that it was actually his brother Eclipse, an earlier prototype of the ultimate lifeform who had done the deed.

Shadow was consumed with revenge on his brother and began alienating himself from Sonic and the others. They were sent to Painite Desert to investigate mysterious disappearances and confronted a sand-wielding hedgehog named Algos who suffered from mental disorders from what seemed to be intense trauma. After the defeat of Algos, Shadow ended up very badly wounded only to be abducted by Mephiles soon after.

Sonic and the others followed Mephiles, but were too late to stop him from implanting a mysterious "Dark Emerald" within Shadow's chest, promising him that it was the key to enhanced powers which would allow him to exact his revenge upon his brother.

The heroes were given no time for reprieve as Dr. Eggman used this opportunity with Sonic and the others being distracted to launch an attack on Station Square with his reconstructed Egg Fleet. They made their way to the Egg Fleet to stop Eggman, with Shadow's powers and ferocity augmented by the Dark Emerald. In a confrontation with the doctor, Shadow tapped deeper into the powers of the Dark Emerald and accessed a frighteningly powerful Dark Super Form which caused him to become consumed by rage and kill both the doctor and Metal Sonic. The others were barely able to calm him out of this enraged state before he attacked Sonic as well - losing control of the ability to distinguish between friend and foe.

After the battle with Dr. Eggman, the others were confronted on Angel Island by a pair of robed figures who came to take the Master Emerald. After fighting them, it is revealed that one of the two is Shadow's brother, Eclipse. Seizing the chance to exact revenge upon his brother, Shadow once again tapped into the dangerous and unpredictable Dark Super Form to augment his powers, but even in this powered state, Eclipse is able to easily defeat him. Infuriated at his inability to defeat his brother and remembering that Mephiles had previously offered to teach him how to harness the powers of the Dark Emerald, Shadow leaves his friends to seek the dark phantom's training.

Sonic goes after him to prevent him from giving himself over to darkness, but Shadow refuses to listen, and Sonic attempts to stop him by force. Being equally matched, the two combatants crank it up a notch further as Shadow accesses even more of the power of the Dark Emerald to unleash an even more powerful form, the Chaos Form. Similarly, Sonic managed to ascend to the Hyper Form without the help of the Chaos Emeralds.

Their fight ended in a cataclysmic draw, with both combatants knocked out after a massive explosion of energy. Mephiles appeared on the battlefield and collected Shadow's unconscious body.

Sonic awoke to find himself tended to by Tikal and Chaos, who had returned from within the Master Emerald. Tikal explained that there were much greater forces at work than simply Mephiles and that an event of apocalyptic proportions was fast approaching. It would be critical to have Shadow on their side for this, and so she instructed the heroes to all begin training in order to improve their powers and strength. According to Tikal, seven of them have received the blessing of legendary mythological beasts which each represent a specific element, and serve to protect the world from the coming apocalypse.

Among the gods, the one who represented the forces of evil, Havoc, had spawned three horrific monstrosities known as the Titan Beasts. As had occurred for aeons since the dawn of time, the Titan Beasts would reappear every ten thousand years to attempt to destroy the universe, and the seven beasts from the Earth would return in the form of Incarnations - mortals who could access their power in order to stop the Titan Beasts.

It was up to them to master the powers of the Incarnations in order to avert the coming apocalypse.

Sonic, tortured by his inability to protect Shadow from Mephiles, leaves the group to train alone in the desert.

Two years go by. The group reunites on Angel Island with greatly augmented powers and prepare to search for Shadow. But things would not be so easy, as there was a shadowy organization, the same one that Eclipse and his companion were part of, who were bent upon the release of the Titan Beasts. Eclipse and his original companion Kakos returned to Angel Island with their commander, Sarx.

They had come for a set of sacred artifacts known as The Goblets which had been crafted by the gods. These relics were the key to unleashing the Titan Beasts using a strand of hair or other genetic material from each of the Incarnations and a demonic ritual in which the goblets are tainted with "the blood of evil."

After a long battle in which Sarx used his power to resurrect the dead to bring Devil Doom back to fight on their side, the mysterious evil-doers managed to escape with the Goblets, retreating to their base in a massive tower on the edge of the Painite Desert. The heroes follow them to their tower, battling through armies of resurrected Black Arms and various agents of the shadowy organization. The heroes were then joined by Algos, who although not entirely sane, possessed one of the beasts, hoping to help. On the second to the last floor, they confronted Eclipse. They fought him briefly, but it wasn't long before Shadow arrived. Knowing that he would not accept help fighting Eclipse, they continued climbing the tower to confront Sarx.

Shadow and Eclipse have a cataclysmic battle in which Eclipse explains he was an incomplete prototype who didn't have immortality. He planned to kill Shadow and extract Professor Gerald's miracle enzyme "Eve" from his body in order to become an eternal being. Fighting for his life, Shadow taps into the power of both the Cerberus and Dark Emerald in order to defeat Eclipse, falling unconscious in the process.

Sonic and the others go to confront Sarx before he can unleash Nova, the first of the Titan Beasts, but it was his plan to lure them to him all along to collect the DNA of the Incarnations for the Goblets. They fought him but were outmatched by his incredible power until Sarx dealt a seemingly fatal blow to Amy, causing Sonic to lose it, accessing the Dark Super Form to defeat Sarx. Somehow with his last breaths, Sarx managed to release the Titan Beast.

In order to save the world from destruction, Shadow agreed to momentarily cooperate with his former allies to bring down the monstrous dragon. The seven Incarnations battle the legendary demon in the skies above Central City before a final suicidal attack from Shadow left the beast utterly destroyed. In the ashes created in that final explosion, the heroes saw no trace of their friend.

In the aftermath of the battle, the heroes prepare for their next challenge, knowing that the mysterious organization would return to unleash the next Titan Beast.

* * *

**Chapter 1- In the Beginning**

Within the military truck, the soldiers sat straight and nervous, tiny beads of sweat glimmering on their foreheads like diamonds on a sandy beach. It moved painfully slowly, the engine of the vehicle growled and popped with a low, relentless power. Under the treads of the tires gravel crunched noisily, but other than this, there was no noise louder than their own breathing.

In fact, an oppressive silence had settled over the men, and with each sharp turn or slight bump the truck went over, they would sit straighter and stiffer, until finally, they looked like perspiring steel rods with dead, emotionless faces plastered on the front.

One of the men wasn't like the others though. He was burly like them, and his hair was closely shaved, like theirs. His bare arms were covered in faded tattoos of scantily clad women and things like tanks and skulls like them, but looks aside, he was completely different.

He was only two ranks higher, not a veteran or a high ranking commander by any means. But something in the way he sat slouched and bored in his chair, lazily inhaling smoke from a cigarette held loosely within his fingers spoke volumes about how he was different.

They'd all been through boot camp together, he'd just managed to claw his way up faster than the rest of them. Not because he followed orders to the letter, but because he thought independently, he solved problems for himself, and nobody on the face of the world, not his seniors, not the government, not God would tell him otherwise.

He seemed to notice how uneasy the rest of them were, and hefted his feet up on the steel box that contained the 'precious cargo' they were assigned to protect like it was a cheap, worthless footrest. He looked at the men through one squinted eye, as the pitter patter of raindrops filled the suffocating void their silence had given the air.

Running his hands though his fiery red hair, he proceeded to reach into one of his pockets, retrieving another cigarette, which he offered to his neighbor. "From the looks of you guys, you'd think we were going to our own funerals."

Accepting the token soberly, the other soldier said nothing, as if his voice box refused to obey him, or had broken, or he'd forgotten how to use it. The others were the same. In answer to their gloomy silence, distant thunder rolled, awakening one of them from his trance. He yelped, and stared shakily at the confident soldier, almost like he thought the redhead's cocky willpower could affect the weather itself.

"M-m-marcus, what's going on out there?" he stammered, his eyes jerking about so violently Marcus half expected they'd come loose and go rolling across the floor like a couple of ping pong balls.

In reply he scratched his forehead, cracked one of his knuckles, and looked at his fearful companion. "Hell, ain't you ever been through here before?"

"I-I'm afraid I don't know w-w-what you mean," was his stammered reply.

Marcus snorted, and took another pull on his cigarette, then breathed the smoke out through his nose, as mellow as if he were taking a nap in a recliner. "The weather here's like nothing else on this whole damn Earth."

The others were staring at him now, hoping for his reassurance, and put to ease by the sound of a strong, brassy voice bellowing fearlessly in jealous contest of the thunder's volume. "If there ain't lightning and thunder, or hail the size o' golf balls, you can bet there'll be a tornado, and then holy fire will rain from the sky."

Strangely, this didn't seem to be what they wanted to hear. Not noticing, or not seeming to care that he'd made matters worse, he continued on like he was telling a ghost story, and getting to the scary part, his eye brows knit together and his voice grim and solemn.

"But that's not what eating you guys... sure, Jimmy never seen a thunderstorm, but I been through here with at least three of you sorry bastards," he said slowly, sounding simultaneously annoyed and sympathetic. He used the voice that grown men use when they want to console each other, but don't want to come off as weak.

"It's nothing..." one of them muttered, coughing into his fist and gripping the handle of his rifle with knuckles that were as white as death.

Marcus stared at him, his shaggy brows knit into a frown, despite that his lips were a perfectly straight line. "I'll believe that when Larson shaves his legs and struts up the street dressed as a hooker."

Amazingly, in his disorientation and fear, the one he'd spoken of didn't seem offended by such a mention of his name. "Now, are you ready to tell me what's got you all so flustered?"

One of them pointed a shaky finger at the steel lock-box Marcus had rested his feet on, and he stared at the finger in disbelief, as if thinking it would move any minute to point to something else.

"Jesus Christ, you're scared of my footrest?"

The one who stuttered, Jim, shook his head. "W-what's in i-i-i-it."

Marcus took a deep breath, and blew the smoke in Jim's face. The younger soldier coughed and tears came to his eyes, earning a nervous chuckle from the rest of the men. "I seen things in my time. Including somebody snatching them shiny thingies."

He stomped his boot to indicate the steel box, to demonstrate his point. "But HQ chose this route cause its out a the way... remote."

"B-b-but-"

"I'll not have any of your buts private, or that's exactly where you'll find my boot next."

"Y-yessir." Jim stared down at the floor of the truck in defeat, as thunder rolled once more.

"I can personally insure that nobody this side of Old Man Mississippi is gonna come after this here emerald."

In the city the truck had come from, another engine roared to life. Almost like it was trying to compete with the thunder overhead, the belly of the motorcycle growled as it sped off. Atop it was a billowing black presence, cloth as dark as the night flapping in the wind and rain, beneath which sat a being that seemed surrounded by an aura that froze the very air.

Silently the figure gripped the handlebars with a death grip, his dead set amidst the beating downpour. Vehicles that it passed sometimes released an angry honk, or a surprised yell, as the the motorcycle was going well over the speed limit, paying no heed to any of them.

The rapidly moving vehicle was obsidian black like its phantom rider, and slipped through the shadows and darkness as easily as if it were a part of them, its motion fluid and sharp all at once. Several sirens sounded in the distance, blaring loudly out in the night, adding to the confusion and noise made by the rain, the thunder, and the roaring of traffic.

It was moving so quickly, even the police were quickly lost in the maze of darkened streets, hastily turned corners and abruptly turning street lights, soon causing them to lose the trail. The motorcycle left the city, rumbling away from the tall buildings and making its way onto an old logging road that cut through the forest.

Screeching tires threw gravel about in showers, as the driver wrestled with the handlebars to make each turn without reducing his speed. The headlight was not even on, and it was nearly pitch black except when the sky was momentarily illuminated by a flash of lightning.

Roadside trees and signs whipped by and yet despite the darkness, the rider never came close to a collision, keeping perfectly in the middle of the road even though he was going at least a hundred miles per hour. Its motor howling in unison with the storm overhead, the motorcycle began to close in on the armored truck.

His smirk hidden by the deep cowl of his cloak, the figure decreased his speed gradually, finally matching the rate the truck was moving as he came alongside the driver's door. The soldier inside looked out his window, hearing the low roaring of an engine other than his own.

Outside, he could see something moving beside him, matching his speed exactly, but it was indistinguishable within the shroud of darkness. It was keeping pace with him perfectly, so he realized suddenly that it had to be following him, causing a cold sweat to break out on his forehead.

The driver unconsciously sped up, and the undulating shadow did the same, following his every move with an eerie precision. Lightning flashed at that moment, illuminating the world for a split second.

What the man saw drove such fear into him he wanted to scream like a little girl, wanted to curl up into a ball and die right then. There, beside him was a cloaked figure, ivory flame markings clawing up his sleeves. He sat upon a motorcycle as dark as sorrow, staring relentlessly at the driver, a shimmering sword held aloft to mark the prelude to his doom.

A hiss of pressurized gas escaping from his front tire rang through the air as the image retreated into the obscurity from which it had been illuminated, and the truck slowly ground to a halt, the motorcycle decelerating in perfect unison.

When they were both perfectly immobile, the strangely ethereal being stepped off his vehicle, slowly pacing towards the driver as if he had all the time in the world, his sword tip pointed towards him, with little scraps of ruptured plastic hanging from its blade.

A gulp rang through the driver's throat as the mysterious stranger approached.

He was dead before he could even scream, his blood splattered onto the windshield with a single precise slice, crimson running down his neck as the silvery katana finished its swipe.

When the truck stopped moving, the men became even more afraid than before. They were certain that some terrorists had made the driver stop, or that there was something blocking the road that all powers in heaven, and Earth and hell below could not move.

"Will ya shut up? Probably some stupid kid whose ball rolled onto the path!" Marcus sneered, taking another drag off his cigarette.

Larson looked at him, blue eyes shining brightly despite the dim interior of the truck. "We'd all feel a lot better if you'd go and check it out Mark."

Marcus peered at him with a look of annoyance clear on his face. He knew that if he stepped outside, the rain would douse his cigarette, and he'd have to light a new one. He knew that all he'd have to do is go out, and ask the driver what the hold up was.

He'd say 'I thought I saw something,' and Marcus would tell him it was a cow, to shut up and drive, and that he needed to stop thinking so much. He sighed, screwed his camouflaged cover on backwards, nodded, and picked up his M-16.

"Fifteen bucks says it's nothing. I come back and you maggots owe me," he snorted as he kicked the back door open. Stepping out into the cold night, he closed the metallic hatch behind him. As he suspected, the instant he came out into the rain, his cigarette was doused by the downpour, and he threw the stub away with a grimace of dissatisfaction.

Trudging along and muttering to himself, he got out his flashlight and pointed it around a bit, checking to see if anybody was there. He came up to the driver's door, and pointed the beam of light into the cab.

To Marcus' shock and dismay, the seat where the driver was supposed to sit was empty... and yet no-one was around. The driver wasn't up looking at the engine, he wasn't in the road ahead, he had just disappeared.

Looking in more carefully, he noticed that there appeared to be some sort of liquid covering the leather lining of the cab, like the driver had spilled a cup of water on the seat. Marcus reached through the open window, bringing his finger down into a shallow puddle of this liquid that covered most of the interior.

When he drew it back and placed it under the light, he gasped in a combination of fear and disgust. A thick crimson liquid that could only have been blood dripped from his fingertip. It was barely even warm.

A noise echoed through the darkness behind him, and Marcus turned around as lightning flashed in the distance. Standing upon a hill and surrounded by a billowing black cloak was a faceless figure, a long sword held in his right hand.

The tip and blade of this weapon was covered in the same ruby stain that had gathered on the driver's seat... and sitting in front of the figure was the decapitated body of the driver, his head placed in front of him, a final scream of terror forever frozen in his dead eyes.

Marcus thought his blood had turned cold. The robed murderer stalked towards him as the darkness returned, and he pointed his flashlight at the dark presence. He saw steel flash, and the blade of the katana came to rest upon the tender flesh of his neck.

Writhing obsidian blackness approached him, a presence like darkness embodied within a soulless silhouette that had a voice that rang like death. "Open the door."

It took Marcus a moment to process the command, it was so simple, and contained no threats or violence. It was almost polite, almost as if the figure were saying 'get out of my way and there won't be any more bloodshed.'

Marcus gulped and nodded, dropping his rifle to the ground. He led the mysterious being to the back of the truck, slowly opening the impenetrable gateway. The men inside gasped when they saw an ominous figure standing behind Marcus, and the tough, burly soldier quaking with fear.

The door had only been open for a second when the cloaked entity sliced Marcus' head off with one clean motion, causing it to roll across the floor of the truck, and stare up at the other men with wide eyes of shock and sorrow.

More crimson droplets fell from the blade of white steel. The figure stepped into the truck, slowly coming towards them, its blade raised. The soldiers realized at this point that they had to fight or they would all die, and overcame their fear enough to grab hold of their rifles and point them at the figure.

He stopped abruptly, as if offended that they would point a gun at him, or perhaps that they would think such a simple weapon could stop him. He nodded, and was joined by a second figure in identical robes, who suddenly materialized in a cloud of dark mist.

The second figure drew his sword as well, as everyone within the truck remained perfectly still.

A beat.

The flash of steel, the spurt of blood, the echoing sound of bullets, a few flashes of light, and every G.U.N. soldier in the truck lay dead, his body slumped over to the blood soaked ground.

A pair of gloved hands grasped the handles on the side of Marcus' footrest, as the first figure picked it up and hefted it on his shoulder. On the way out, he kicked the red head's decapitated skull like a soccer ball, sending it flying into the night, a stream of scarlet wetness trailing behind it.

* * *

A door leading into the chamber hissed open, causing all heads to turn and look at the disturbance. The room's walls were bare except for a few light fixtures and the huge round table the room's occupants sat at was almost completely bare as well.

Eleven of them sat there, pulling their cloaks around their bodies and laying their hands upon the handles of their swords to prepare for whatever was coming through the door, whether it be friend or foe.

Two identically clothed figures entered, the first one carrying the steel lock-box they had stolen from the armored truck. Drops of water trickled off their hoods and the box, but nobody seemed to notice this, or move to clean up the potentially dangerous trail of water being left. They were fixated on the late Marcus' footrest.

The shadowy phantom dropped the box roughly onto the table, as he and his partner sat down in the two remaining empty seats. Nobody moved for a second, entranced by the steel container. Finally, one of the robed figures rose from his seat, his right arm outstretched, and lazily pointing at the metallic object.

As if by magic, the box rose into the air, responding to his silent commands obediently. It gently levitated, droplets of rain water tricking onto the table below in a disorganized rhythm. His fingers clenched shut and an expectant pause hung over the room.

Then, a change came over the floating lock-box.

Screws turned and rotated on their own, loosening at his command. Steel plates flexed and warped, grinding against each other and making a high pitched squealing sound. Yet the billowing presence never shifted or spoke, merely held out his hand as the nearly impenetrable box disassembled itself.

Soon, most of it had crumbled away to fall in pathetic disarray on the table below. When a reasonable size hole had appeared in the container, a glimmering tendril of light shone through, and everything - even the box's destruction - paused.

Ivory flames fluttered as the lone, standing figure raised his arm, his movements followed by twelve individual's gazes, which were all in one way or another, held in awe. The shimmering light slowly rose out of the remnants of the box, casting its eerie glow across the room, and illuminating everything.

The pure white light of the clear Chaos Emerald sparkled temptingly, and floated through the air as if pulled by an invisible string, into the open hand of the standing figure. His fingers curled around it, digging into the emerald with an almost lustful satisfaction.

"One down... six to go."

Some of the others nodded at this remark, and one stood up, pointed his index finger at the soaked one who had brought the emerald in, drops falling from the brim of his cowl. "You've clearly demonstrated your loyalty, but I'm still worried."

His voice was dark and ominous, almost as if a thread lay veiling within each word. "I cannot help but wonder if you might be affected by your former connections."

All heads turned towards the accused, who was merely staring back, unaffected. He had been toying with a piece of the shattered steel container, rolling it aimlessly within his palm. Abruptly stopping at this remark, he clenched his fist, crushing his box handle, and cracking the metal into a tightly compacted ball.

"Of course not."

This vague and simple reply that seemed to distinctly contradict his violent abuse of his metal plaything appeared satisfactory, and the group began to disperse, getting up from the round table and scuttling off as if nothing had happened.

One of them cleaned the remnants of the box off the table, and the newcomer and his partner with a voice like death were some of the last to get up from the table. The leader, still grasping the emerald, stood up as well, and approached the soaking figures.

Both of them rendered a short bow. The leader turned to the second figure, his arms crossed. "Leave us. There is something we must discuss in private."

A quick nod in response, and the two were completely alone. The leader's robes were more intricate and ornate than the other twelves,' with richly decorated golden hems at the sleeves and the hood. Shining from within the deep cowl were brilliant jade eyes that stared intently at the newest member of the organization, gazing into his soul.

"I'm aware that there's been some concern as to the worsening of your condition," the leader drawled impassively, while rolling the Chaos Emerald around in his palm.

"As long as I'm careful, I have nothing to worry about."

The leader placed a hand on his shoulder, almost like a scolding father. "I seem to remember Sarx saying something along those lines."

His newest disciple folded his sleeves together so that they met, but said nothing in response to this remark. "We can't afford additional liabilities. There's too much at stake here."

"Then what should I do?" the lesser cloaked figure asked, his voice dead and devoid of emotion.

The leader held out his hand, the shining gem held within his palm. A crimson light gathered surrounding the emerald, as his flame decorated cuff fluttered wildly.

"With each emerald we gather, I can lessen the extent of your affliction. Once we have all seven, it should be eliminated entirely."

The scarlet luminosity coursed from the leader's hand and to the figure across from him, enveloping him and wrapping around him like a blanket of blood.

"This does not give you a free ride to do whatever you want," the tall figure reminded him, a hint of ice in his voice, as the claret light faded.

"I know."

They stood there a moment, staring at each other, as the hand containing the Chaos Emerald retreated back into his golden hemmed sleeve.

"Good. Return to your partner. We have work to do."

* * *

Authors Note - In the End was undoubtedly a master work, but as you all know, it created a good number of mysteries. (Thus the pen-name.) The ending was rather ambiguous, and anyone could tell you the conflict wasn't nearly resolved.

With the appearance of more of Sarx's organization to contend with, the theft of the goblets used to unleash the Titan Beasts, the strange disappearance of Eclipse's corpse, and the unknown fate of the ultimate lifeform at the climax of the battle with Nova, there is still much to be uncovered.

I mean to bring it all full circle. If it turns out as I intend, this story should be a constant ride on the revelation train. It will be longer than the first at well over a hundred chapters, and hopefully better, although I'll leave you all to be the judges of that.

Which brings me to my goal. So I can get it out of the way early: I intend to write this story in order to complete and surpass In the End in every way.

All will be told. Just as with the last book, the backstory of the series will be screwed with, although everything should be adequately explained by the end of the book. The story takes place several months after the end of the first book, as the heroes have returned from the bitter sweet victory over the dragon of thunder to continue their training on Angel Island.

The first chapter isn't very "Sonic-y" it serves to introduce the conflict, so don't bail out on me here, just wait until the story progresses a bit further.

All original characters, plot elements, etc, are the property of Mystery002, and not to be used without my explicit permission.

Sonic and the other Sonic characters and series elements are property of Sega.


	2. The Organization

Author's Notes: in accordance with the feedback provided by the esteemed ST Hedgehog in the first chapter, a change in setting will now be denoted by the following mark:

* * *

**Chapter 2- The Organization**

Jade eyes squinted tightly, as a low humming sound filled the air. An unnatural wind tore through the hillside, whipping around blades of grass and making the trees groan with pain. A golden crackle; like an electrical conduit that is connected for only a moment and then dies flashed and was gone the next second.

The normally cerulean hero lifted off the ground, his body colored a brightly shining yellow, and his eyes taking on the fiery hue of his departed comrade. Without the ground to support them, his feet hung limply in the air, their tips pointed towards the Earth.

A neutral frown creased his lips in place of his usual trademark smirk. Since the heroes' battle with Nova, Sonic had undertaken a level of training so strenuous and vigorous that even the excessively enthusiastic Tikal was beginning to worry from time to time.

He had sworn an oath to never let harm come to his friends again, and was pushing himself to the limit to achieve even greater power... Yet as hauntingly familiar as that sounded, the speed demon reasoned that he was not motivated by revenge, like his obsidian counterpart had been, but rather by concern for those he cared about.

Realizing his shattered emotional state, the others had more or less left him to himself, only occasionally scolding him when he pushed himself too far. But when they did, he would smile dryly and respond that he had not gone far enough, a remark that sent a shiver down the spines of those who remembered his use of the Dark Super Form.

_Flashback_

_Sonic stepped closer to them, a dangerous, homicidal sneer on his face. The heroes knew that he was completely out of control, but that he had just defeated Sarx, so if they could cause him to see the situation, there would be no further danger. _

_ "Calm down! Everything is okay!" Knuckles said, but Sonic made no indication he'd even heard. The heroes suddenly realized that Sonic had easily done what all of them together couldn't do... single handedly defeated Sarx. How much power did this new form possess? _

_ As if to answer their wonderings, the obsidian hedgehog shot forward, fist drawn back to attack Knuckles. The echidna gasped in frustration at Sonic's incredible speed, he was impossible to track. _

_ Sonic landed a kick in the back of Knuckles' head, throwing the echidna to the floor and sprawled on his face, the force of the kick sending ringing vibrations through his skull. Whatever dark intentions Sonic had were interrupted, as Blaze sent a ball of fire at him. _

_ The infuriated hedgehog growled and easily dodged this projectile, but he had forgotten about Knuckles, which was Blaze's original intention. Knuckles used the opening to whip around and kick Sonic in the legs, knocking him on his back. _

_ "We don't want to hurt you Sonic. Just settle down!" Blaze snarled, while covering her fists in fire. The battle was certainly a conundrum. On the one hand, if they simply did nothing, and allowed Sonic to attack them, he undoubtedly possessed the strength to kill them all. _

_ But on the other hand, if they used their maximum strength, treating him as an enemy... they had no intention to seriously hurt or kill him... It posed quite a problem. _

_ How do you fight someone who is your friend? Sonic faced the same dilemma when he fought Shadow at the lake of tears. But Sonic had to come to a terrible decision that if he didn't use all his strength, Shadow would kill him. _

_ Knuckles, Blaze, and Chaos faced the same choice. Blaze was hesitant to attack Sonic, hoping instead to bring him within a hair's breadth of danger in order to shock him back to reality. _

_ Knuckles was too busy worrying about staying alive to form a coherent thought about morality. _

_ Chaos wasn't sure yet what should be done. Sonic stood up, glaring down at Knuckles as if he had been the one to injure Amy. His eyes were so cold and hateful... for a moment, Knuckles forgot that he was Sonic, became utterly convinced that some unspeakable demon was standing before him. _

_End Flashback_

Of course, he had no memories or consciousness of what he'd done while in this state, and he hadn't used it since, but they were all beginning to wonder if the Chimera's perpetual anger was beginning to rub off on him.

Recently he'd been training with his Super Form and Hyper Form, trying to see how long he could maintain them before he blacked out from exhaustion, and exactly what he was capable of while using them.

At present, he was practicing aerial maneuvers, rushing around at unfathomable speeds and making tightly angled, split second turns. Massive trees within Angel Island's dense forest provided appropriate obstacles for the training, and they were thickly clumped enough that even running normally without colliding with one of them was no easy task.

Add this to the massive speed lent to him by the Super Form, and he had to think on his feet, making braking and turning a matter of discipline rather than skill. Huge trunks, dodged by a millisecond's span flashed past, some large enough to stop him dead in his path even at his current velocity.

Finally he burst free of the forest, showers of brightly colored Autumn leaves spraying into the air upon his exit, like confetti fluttering lazily in the wind. He slowed, gradually decreasing in speed until he touched down, and reverted back to his normal state.

No sooner had he landed and caught his breath than he heard his name being called. His grassy green eyes flicked about for the source of the noise, quickly locking onto a distant pink object. He took off in a burst of speed, zooming across the wide open field in seconds, and throwing powerful winds as he moved that threw the falling leaves about into wild, flailing descents.

Sonic stopped in front of Amy, a bit of his former smile returning. He eyed her intently, noting her somewhat surprised expression. "What's up Ames?"

She opened her mouth and then closed it, as if there was something she wanted badly to say, but she decided against it. "Everybody is in a meeting. Tikal asked me to come and get you."

One eyebrow quirked upwards, but the blue hero nodded, quickly accelerating away to join the others, and leaving Amy staring after him. She kicked the ground as she followed at a slow pace, her face downcast. "He always leaves me behind."

Everybody was quietly sitting and listening to the Echidna princess speak, and the atmosphere was solemn and depressive. The topic of conversation was a heavy one. Since the battle months before with the demon Nova, they'd been training in anticipation of a conflict with the next Titan Beast, especially since the mysterious organization Sarx had been a member of still held the goblets of legend.

_Flashback_

_Writing the exact texts used to summon the three Titan Beasts; the god cast them down onto the planet, in hope that the blood of evil would corrupt the seven goblets and set his monsters free. The goblets were shaped into the physical catalyst to release the three beasts._

_Due to the fact that they were crafted for peace and good, not for the awakening of monsters however, only one Titan Beast could be released at a time when all goblets were lit and corrupted by evil. When a beast was released, the seven goblets would extinguish their mystical flame, unable to be illuminated again for the rise and fall of a hundred suns and a hundred moons._

_This was the power of the gods. They would make sure that the three beasts would never be released together again, for their might would prove too much for even the seven incarnations._

_Flashback_

The goblets were the tools that were used to summon one of the Titan Beasts, and undoubtedly, the organization would attempt to summon the next beast since they had defeated Nova.

She knew that it would not help Sonic's emotional state, but Tikal also knew they could not wait much longer. Now that all of them had trained with their abilities to the point where they had access to the Second Stage of their beasts, she had brought them together to consider their next course of action.

"As you all know, the time in which Hydra can be summoned is quickly approaching," she said quietly, her voice as soothing and warm as honey even amidst the most dire of topics. "We must be prepared to deal with this threat... we must prepare for the worst."

Nobody spoke or moved, their eyes simply followed her as she paced back and forth between the group. It was obvious she was nervous about something, but it was safe to assume public speaking wasn't it... after all she had delivered Shadow's eulogy. It was much more likely _that_ was the thorn in her side... that she was worried Sonic wouldn't be reliable because of his slow recovery from that wound.

Rouge was certainly no better off, and had only recently been eating healthy amounts. After the obsidian hedgehog's disappearance, she'd been stricken with an illness that was likely more emotional in nature than physical. She'd been bedridden for a week, and she was behind the rest of them in her training... which worried the princess..

"I know that there has not been adequate time to recover from the losses we were dealt in our last encounter. But I'm worried that if we do not act now, we will be caught off guard."

Finally, Sonic piped up, the first to speak out of anyone else in the group. He had a strange look in his eye, the emerald within his iris was faded and dull, almost lifeless. "We're ready to fight. That's what Shadow would have wanted."

She nodded, although she wasn't sure if the hero was just trying to reassure her, or if he was genuinely ready to take up what she had in mind. "There is a mission of critical importance we must undertake. With the loss of the Cerberus in the last battle, I fear that we may not be able to stop Hydra when the time comes..."

"What the Princess is trying to say is that we need to find the new Cerberus... the guy who took Sunshine's job after he kicked the bucket," Chaos smirked, his confidence and bravado still intact, and his rivalry with Sonic as strong as ever.

A collective murmur spread throughout the group, as they discussed what this meant. After a moment, Silver stood, and faced the lavender echidna. "But how will we know who it is without the goblets!"

His feline companion huffed and yanked him down, her scoff ringing so clearly you would think she was ashamed that she associated with him. "If you'd be quiet, I'm sure she'd explain that."

Tikal seemed slightly surprised by this display of what she would consider hostility on the part of Blaze, but amazingly, Silver didn't seem offended; he was sitting there quietly and obeying the cat's orders like a well trained dog.

"...Thank you Blaze... One of the purposes of this meeting is to address questions that may arise. We may no longer have the goblets, but that does not mean we are without a means to tell when someone holds the hound within them," she explained. "Lord Chaos, if you would."

The god of destruction grinned and rose from his seat, his silvery coat fluttering a bit from the sudden movement. He held his hand aloft, as a dimly shining light began to gather in his palm. "I thought this up since we don't have the goblets. It should work out the same."

His brows furrowing, he got the energy to stop fluctuating, and remain motionless within his hand. Slowly, he approached Sonic with his index finger and thumb held out, preparing to grab hold. The blue hero didn't move or breathe as the mighty deity plucked a quill from him, knowing that to respond would encourage his antics.

Chaos smirked at his psychological victory, staring at Sonic with a look that dared him to protest. When he received nothing, he shrugged, and dropped the quill into the motionless light. The moment Sonic's flesh came into contact with the energy, it came alive, consuming the strand of hair in an instant.

However, the color of the energy diluted into a brilliant gold, the color of the Chimera. The implications of this new power were obvious: if a strand of the Cerberus bearer's hair were applied in place of Sonic's and the energy would change to an obsidian black.

Silver nodded at the non-vocal answer to his question, as Tikal continued. "Several of us will be leaving on the mission... but some of us will need to stay behind to protect the shrine, and the Master Emerald."

The crimson guardian stood to his feet, his amethyst orbs glittering with an uncanny light. "I'm the most qualified to protect it."

"That may be, but you'll need some help."

One of Knuckles' eyebrows raised at the feline's remark, as he crossed his arms. "I've never had trouble before."

"I suppose you didn't have trouble when Eclipse and Kakos arrived three years ago... or when they returned again with Sarx," Blaze commented, not even opening an eyelid to look at the now irritated guardian.

"You don't see the emerald missing do you?" he sneered, causing her to get up, and stare him straight in the eye.

"I don't see the goblets here either."

Tikal seemed disturbed by the rising conflict within the group, and held out her hands for silence. "Surely you will not refuse additional protection, guardian? I've never known you to be unreasonable."

Knuckles huffed and nodded, his way of saying he didn't like it, but that he'd endure if she willed it. Silver quickly commented that he'd stay as well and the three of them would be enough to protect the emerald, while the rest of them would have no trouble finding the Cerberus.

Tails, slightly matured from before, stood up and asked where they'd begin their investigation. The princess stared at him for awhile, a strange, quiet emotion dancing within her eyes. The sky blue echidna answered the question for her, patting the fox on the head.

"Rainbow Eyes said he had some info that might help us, so we're gonna report in to G.U.N. first."

Tails strangely didn't seem to resent the echidna's teasing, or perhaps his respect for the title of god inhibited his anger.

"Good. Now that everything has been settled, we'll leave in the morning. Everyone get a good night's sleep," the lavender princess drawled, her words seeming to come out as slow as molasses. Her eyes met Sonic's, and some communication seemed to occur that wasn't contained in the words she was speaking. "We'll need it."

* * *

Thirteen shadowy figures sat around the circular table, each one staring at the gold adorned phantom, who was standing and staring emotionlessly into the distance, despite the fact he was speaking to them. The brilliantly shining Chaos Emerald was once again clutched tightly within his hand, as if he hadn't let it go since he'd gotten it.

"Thanks to Sarx, we succeeded in unleashing Nova, as expected. However, if we are to release the second Titan Beast, it is necessary to reacquire the DNA of the Incarnations," the leader said in an icy voice, his body completely motionless as he spoke.

One of the seated figures waved his hand in the air, like he was grasping for something that wasn't there. "We know where they're keeping their base. Give the order and we'll attack."

There was silence, as the cowl of the leader's hood slowly turned to stare at the figure who'd spoken. "Surely you're not so foolish to believe we'll catch them off guard and capture all of their hair strands in a single attack."

"Not at all. But we'll get at least one. If we can only gradually light the flames, when the limitation expires, we can unleash Hydra unopposed," the challenged figure responded, the fist he'd thrust into the air clenching shut.

"Excellent. Razor, Leukos, this is your next mission. Travel to Angel Island, attack, and come back with as many Incarnation DNA samples as you can manage," the leader finally laid the Chaos Emerald on the table as he said this, its naturally imbalanced bottom allowing it to roll slightly.

"As you command, great leader," a deep voice replied, as two of the robed figures stood from the table, and began to leave.

"I believe that concludes today's business. You may all go."

The other ten of the mysterious, anonymous fiends slowly stood to their feet and went their separate ways, leaving the leader of the group alone with his crystal clear Chaos Emerald. He poked it with his index finger, toying with it idly, as if deep in thought.

After a moment of doing nothing other than this, he also stood to his feet, holding his hand open a good foot above the emerald. Obediently, the gem floated upwards into his palm, his fingers curving around it in a tight grip the moment it contacted his glove.

"It won't be long now."


	3. To Find the Truth

**Chapter 3- To Find the Truth**

A quiet, melancholic sound rushed over the dunes of sand, whispering softly under the dark and starry sky. Darting over the hillsides and through the sparse vegetation gave to the wind a soft, screaming, phantom quality that embodied the prickling sensation that one was being watched.

A hair raising feeling: that someone was behind you, completely motionless and silent, but that if you only turned around, they'd vanish into thin air, as if never there at all.

That was the message carried on the wind's currents.

From atop his watch tower, a lone soldier wiped a drop of sweat from his brow and sighed heavily. The temperature was far too low to warrant perspiration, but all of the men were nervous... not just him.

The high-ups at G.U.N. Command hadn't been able to keep a wrap on the incident three days ago, and by now everybody knew that Marcus and his fellows had all been brutally slaughtered, and the Chaos Emerald seized by the terrorists.

Many wondered if they would share the same fate. They wondered if the two mysterious attackers would come for them as well. All of them were scared.

Yet standing on the spire and quaking like a frightened child left Caleb feeling weak and powerless, giving all the more meaning to the gentle howling that seemed to emanate from some ghastly, disembodied voice.

His jaw set, as another bead of cold sweat ran down his neck. Blood vessels, normally microscopic in size, seemed to bulge out of his eyes as they darted back and forth over the empty expanse of the searing desert.

Then, he saw it. Out there, in the emptiness, he saw something move. His eyes jerked back to the source of the movement like bright, green lightning bolts, but when he had returned his gaze to the spot where the shadows had shifted, he saw nothing.

Nothing but sand, that is.

And sand couldn't move; wasn't alive.

He was being silly, there was nothing out there to be afraid of...

While he was comforting himself with these thoughts, he saw a second shift in the darkness, interrupting his thoughts. He froze, staring open mouthed at the spot where he knew with absolute certainty he had seen sand move on its own.

He tried to summon sensible words, to logically process what he was seeing. It simply wasn't possible, but should he scream for help, who would believe him? And if he shot the sand, what would that accomplish? The others would just think he'd gone insane.

Perhaps that was it. Maybe the stress and fear had overwhelmed him, and he was hallucinating. Maybe he'd just lost his mind in the last ten minutes and become a paranoid, schizophrenic weirdo.

But, as if mocking his attempts to rationalize the situation, the desert shifted again, now in plain sight. It twisted and rose up to form a column seven feet high, and more pillars of identical size followed soon after.

Caleb's eyes widened in sheer horror, as his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and refused to budge. The sweat running down his form had multiplied, and by now he reeked of it, but he took no notice.

He stood there, turned to stone by the fearsome spectacle he was witnessing, as one hundred individual pillars of sand rose from the desert floor in unison.

A beat.

All of the columns of sand began to transform, to morph into shapes more grotesque than anything Caleb could have possibly imagined.

First, legs sprouted out of them, excess matter falling to the ground as the clumps of inanimate dust _stood_.

Arms formed a similar way, with perfectly crafted, clawed fingers jutting from a featureless, inhuman torso.

Two bright blue orbs appeared above the head of each monstrous creature, floating in empty space.

Shifting, twisting upwards like snakes pushing themselves off each others' bodies, tendrils of sand wrapped around the orbs of pale blue light.

The faces that formed were deformed and horrific, with gnashing teeth and black, empty maws. Insect mimicking mandibles protruded from each cheek, and each set of unearthly eyes turned to stare at him simultaneously.

Caleb felt such a constricting weight on his chest that it seemed it took all the strength in his body just to breathe. There was no training that could prepare a soldier to face this level of terror, no step by step process to follow. Logic itself, mankind's crowning jewel, his ultimate false wisdom, lay utterly powerless in the face of the impossible situation thrust before his eyes.

The army of sand men took a step forward, all at the same instant. When they moved, they didn't lift their feet off the ground; they simply pushed their leg forward, as if wading in the earth.

They began to approach the front gate, and by now, other soldiers had noticed their presence. Two glaring spotlights shone on the force, silvery, illuminating cones shining out amidst the otherwise stark blackness.

One of the soldiers boomed out with a megaphone. "Stay were you are. You are trespassing on government property."

Surprisingly, the beasts stopped, and stared up at him, the haunting orbs inside their heads that seemed to serve as eyes refelecting the spotlight eerily.

"Make no attempt to resist, and we will not open fire."

Unblinking eyes never faltered for an instant, up until the last moment of the soldier's warning.

At that exact moment, all their heads turned towards some distant point. They hung there for a minute, and one solitary Sand Demon stepped forward. He took not three steps before a rain of bullets fell from the guard towers surrounding the base. The projectiles passed through the sand as harmlessly as if they were shot from a Nerf gun.

The soldiers - excepting Caleb - didn't seem to realize their attacks were having no effect, and they continued their bombardment regardless.

Fear overtook him when he saw weapons designed to kill rendered completely useless against the monstrous creatures. Ignoring the battle, his orders, his friends, and his weapon, he leapt down the ladder of the guard tower without a second thought.

The Sand Demons had come nearer. They hail of bullets had grown thicker, but still not one of them showed signs of even being wounded.

Caleb was frozen in fear as the sandy monsters began to leap at the tops of the towers, easily achieving a thirty foot vertical.

Screams echoed from the tower across from him, announcing the beasts' ferocious attack.

He turned to flee, all rational thought having already fled from him, and fear that blinded perception reigning supreme.

It didn't matter that he had no idea where he was going, or that the Sand Demons would likely eventually find him anyways. Caleb didn't stop to consider the fates of his comrades or the repercussions of deserting.

Instinct overtook intellect, emotion drowned empathy. He was hardly aware of his surroundings as he made his wild sprint.

Awareness suddenly returned to him when he collided with an object that blocked his path. At first he was terrified that one of the creatures had caught him, and that death's cruel grip would soon grab hold of him.

But staring up at the motionless figure, it soon became apparent he was not a Sand Demon. Caleb had first mistaken him for the creatures because the moon seemed to reflect brilliantly off his startlingly blue eyes.

This gave them an almost eerie, haunting light. But this was the only trait Caleb could see that he shared with the monsters.

The figure's features were mostly obscured by the darkness, but he was shorter than the Sand Demons, even than Caleb, and a slight smirk twisted his lips.

Caleb grabbed onto him, his breathing heavy. He tried to produce some warning, or to beg for help, but all he could do was sputter like an idiot.

His smirk died, as the figure shoved Caleb away from him. "Nobody's going to die. You're making a fool of yourself."

Caleb's eyes widening in shock and incredulity. How did this stranger know of the attack?

"I'm afraid you're all trespassing in my home. This desert belongs to me, you see," he laughed slightly. "Consider yourself lucky. I'd have not been so gracious two years ago."

Caleb stared open mouthed, as recognition dawned in his eyes. "You're-"

"Your worst nightmare? The one who orchestrated this whole attack? Some kind of freak of nature?" Algos said almost boredly, as if reciting things he'd heard many times. "Take your pick."

Like a cobra striking, his hand shot forward, compelling the sand around them into action. A massive column of light brown matter rose up, looming of Caleb and dwarfing him completely.

In only an instant, he was consumed, engulfed by millions of individual grains, each one directly and willfully controlled by the blue eyed stranger.

At first, the suffocating heat and darkness were the worst parts, but the pressure gradually began to increase.

Pushing inward on his legs and arms, the shifting sand closed tighter and tighter, as the heat seemed to roast him alive.

He screamed and wept, begged for it to stop, but the only sound he heard in reply was the noise of his bones snapping into tiny fragments.

Searing agony shot up his body, and white fire consumed his nerve endings. Darkness clouded the edges of his vision, as the sand slowly unfurled from around him, gently laying him on the ground.

He was set down at the feet of his tormentor, whose eyes were still glimmering like sapphires.

"Like I said: no-one will die," he snickered, and began to walk away, as Caleb slipped into the abyss, and lost all consciousness.

* * *

Quiet reigned inside the research facility. Most of the staff had evacuated at the onset of the attack, except for the few dedicated scientists who didn't stop to eat or sleep.

Some of them were working on "cures" for the need to eat or sleep so they could work on something else.

A distant rumbling shook the earth and rattled assorted lab equipment. It stretched out, shaking the whole facility, and then stopped as suddenly as it began. When the tremor ended, the oppressive silence settled over once again, and everything was still.

Except, that is, for the quivering form of a man in a long white lab coat. He huddled against the wall, his withered features stricken with fear. The quakes has been occurring periodically, and gradually increasing in intensity for some time now.

The man's pale grey eyes flicked to the bolted, seemingly impenetrable steel doorway, which only moments before had rattled violently. He bit his lip, his ivory teeth grinding into the tender red flesh until they drew blood.

A few minutes ago, the screams of the soldiers guarding the base had finally faded, leaving a haunting silence in between the tremors that he could only guess meant the end of whatever battle had been occurring.

The scientist became rigid as a terrifying sound split the air. Akin the to high pitched shriek of a braking train, the noise emanated from the other side of the huge, steel door at the far end of the room. The door began to violently buckle and convulse, thin cracks spreading in interlocked spider web patterns on its surface.

He was forced to cover his ears as the dreaded sound rose to a crescendo, and the spasmodic shaking of the now fractured door ceased abruptly. Shortly after the stillness set in, it was joined by silence, as the terrible, shrieking sound died.

Enclosing his legs in a vice-like embrace, the scientist stared at the shattered door with eyes that comprehended nothing, but saw perfectly.

A thin stream of dusty particles began to leak through the cracks, piling on the floor of the lab in a neat mound. Slowly, the sand began to take form. Rising from the pile of miniscule granules was a single figure, and waves of sand rolled off his form like an earthen cloak.

The first distinguishable features were piercing blue eyes, which, from the moment of their formation, never stopped boring into him with a bone chilling intensity that seemed as though it could only exist within nightmares.

Even before the body of the strange figure had finished forming, he surged forward, streams of sand trailing in his wake like the tails of a hundred comets. An animal roar escaped from Algos' lips, and his sand churned like a roiling wave, splashing in every direction. He grabbed hold of the scientist, and shook him with as much force as he could muster, slamming his head into the wall repeatedly.

"Tell me everything you know about Project Algos if you want to live!" he bellowed, even as he commanded twin tendrils of sand to crawl up the man's legs and hold him securely.

"I don't know anything, I swear!"

"Liar! You know something. I've run out of compassion for you G.U.N. scum!" he tightened the sand ropes threateningly, braking his legs in an instant.

As the pained wail that resulted from this injury faded, Algos renewed his threats, and once again demanded the scientists' cooperation.

"Alright! I wasn't involved with the project! But I know who was."

"You're in no position to bargain. Get on with it!" Algos slammed his head against the wall again for good measure.

A slight sadness passed over his face, even in the midst of his terror and excruciating pain. It lasted only a moment, before he heeded Algos' threat.

"He's dead now, everyone connected with the project is dead."

Utter shock and disbelief filled Algos, and he stumbled backwards, forgetting his threatening façade in an instant.

What could have possibly resulted in everyone connected with the project to die? How now would he ever discover the truth of who he was, and what had occurred all those years ago?

As such questions raced through Algos' mind, he realized that he truly was alone. He had no family, no friends... not even makers or masters to demand answers from, to serve or destroy.

He had no purpose in existence, and the very world itself despised him, scorned him for his freakish powers.

"There might be something left of G.U.N. Command Gamma though..."

Algos snapped out of his confusion and anguish to fully contemplate what the scientist had said.

He may have been alone, but at least he could search for clues to his identity. At least he still had somewhere to go, a familiar place that might trigger latent memories.

"It's been abandoned for the last ten years. But that's where the research was being conducted."

Algos finally took his eyes from the man, turning towards the cracked door he'd come in through.

"Where?"

The request was so simple, it stunned him. But in a moment, he'd gathered his wits enough to make an intelligible reply.

"Fifty miles outside of Station Square, at the far edge of Painite Desert."

Realizing the irony of this, Algos allowed a dark, almost sinister chuckle to escape his lips.

"I hope I find the answers I seek... for your sake."

With the sound of whispering, deranged voices filling his mind, and an emptiness inside which could only be filled by renewed purpose, Algos left the same way he had come, to return to the place he had first come from.


	4. The Hell Hound Awaits

Author's Notes: Sorry I had to cut this chapter short, but don't worry, the next one will pick up right where this leaves off.

**Chapter 4- The Hell Hound Awaits**

Sonic stared blankly at the wall across from him, his jade eyes seeming empty and confused. He was so out of it, he hadn't even noticed that Amy has latched onto his hand and snuggled up to him. The heroes were arranged on couches in a moderately semi-circular fashion in a G.U.N. conference room. They had been waiting for some time now, and Chaos was beginning to get impatient.

In order to pass time, he decided to mess with Tails by asking him the most bizarre and unexplainable questions, much like an Elementary School child.

"So, what exactly is the gene mutation that caused your... two tails?" he smirked, hoping perhaps the young fox would take offense and he could amuse himself in that way.

"Y'know, I'm not actually sure, but I've had them since birth, so now that you mention it, it probably _is _genetic."

"Cool. So what about Scrawny? Do we have any idea why he's blue?"

Tails began to answer, but the god cut him off mid sentence.

"I mean, look at him! He's so down, we're going to need a ladder to get him out of that chair."

Seeming to realize that Chaos was making tasteless puns about him, Sonic awoke from his trance. Brushing Amy abruptly off of himself, he turned, flipped the god of destruction off, and resumed staring at the wall.

"Well! Looks like he found his spine!"

"Lord Chaos..."

"Grew a pair and decided to stand up to me, eh?"

"Chaos!"

"Well just because Sunshine is pushing up daisies-"

"Your grace, that is quite enough!" Tikal raised her voice in a scolding manner, which in itself was enough to startle everybody.

But what happened next was beyond description.

Slowly, almost mechanically, Sonic's head rotated until his eyes locked on Chaos.' The hellish anger within his irises gave him an eerily familiar expression that they all recognized instantaneously. Sonic's outer shell of emotionless disinterest had cracked, and peeking through the fracture was that familiar demon which had overtaken him once before.

"Sonic?" Tails was unfamiliar with this side of his adopted brother, and it surprised him perhaps the most.

Chaos didn't seem to take the threat in Sonic's eyes seriously, and refused to meet the cobalt hedgehog's gaze.

The door slid open, disrupting the conflict with a certain sudden finality. After it had sat there, gaping for a few moments, in walked the frail husk of a what was once a man. Each time the heroes saw the G.U.N. Commander, he looked even older, and more sickly.

Now he looked positively skeletal, as if a passing breeze could blow him away, and the change from only a few months before was astonishing. A racking cough exploded from his lungs, as he came to the center of the room and faced the heroes.

"You don't look so good..." Rouge commented, as concerned glances passed between some of them.

"I know. I'm dying," he replied quietly. "And I fear perhaps G.U.N. may go into the grave with me."

Strangely, Tikal seemed the most distraught by this news, and was the first to question what had prompted the thought.

"Our bases and convoys across the globe have begun to come under attack. Eye witness reports identified the cloaks of the terrorists as identical to those worn by the strange organization you fought."

"They were the ones who unleashed Nova!" Tails remarked, before reminding them all. "And they still have the goblets."

"And now they're after the Chaos Emeralds," the Commander announced grimly.

"Whatever it is they're trying to do, we have to stop them," Sonic interjected in an unusually quiet tone of voice.

"We have no idea where they'll strike next, or what their eventual goal is. The important thing is that you are all prepared in case they summon the other... monstrous things..."

"That's actually why were here," Tikal breathed. "In order to be ready, we need to find the new Cerberus bearer."

"We were wondering if you know anything that could help our search," Rouge added.

The Commander closed his eyes, the two colors flashing away as they were obscured by the fleshy obstructions. He inhaled deeply and pondered for a minute, before opening his eyes again.

"Actually, I do," he began. "Our reports tell of activity in a distant city. Some unidentified individuals have been displaying abilities and powers that are very similar to your description of those the Cerberus had."

"That's not much to go on, and it could be a trap," Tails mused.

"If this city is somehow involved with this little club, I say we spring the trap and waste these losers," Sonic remarked, with a dark gleam in his eye.

"If it's a trap, it will be dangerous! Please don't go, just let G.U.N. send in some people," Amy pleaded with Sonic.

"Don't worry Flower, I'll protect you. Besides, why let these bozos have all the fun?"

It is good that Chaos didn't see Sonic's death glare, because it probably would have raised the hairs on the back of even his neck.

"I'll arrange for you to be transported to Eruthros immediately."

* * *

The helicopter ride was tenuous, and the recent animosity between the god and Sonic seemed to hover over them all. Thankfully the roar of the whirring rotor blades made conversation both inconvenient, and unnecessary to fill the void of silence.

Despite the oppressive noise, lack of conversation allowed minds to wander, thoughts to dance over and under each other in an endless, maddening stream.

Recent events had left them all wondering about a multitude of things, and it seemed as though the more they discovered, the more questions remained unanswered. Who was this mysterious organization? And what did they want? After months of inactivity since the battle in the tower, why suddenly appear and begin attacking G.U.N. outposts?

Sonic got the feeling that they weren't going to learn any more about the fiends than they wanted them to know. Their black cloaks, their almost cowardly, elusive tactics, it all reeked of secrecy and intrigue.

A crackling voice spoke through the helicopter's radio, but its words were indecipherable amidst the chaos and noise. It was immediately obvious however, from the pilot's reaction that whatever the voice had said, it wasn't good news.

"What's going on?" Tails yelled to the pilot, whose hands had now clenched into death grips on the handles of the craft.

"Another G.U.N. Command was just attacked!" he responded. "Something about an army of monsters."

"Monsters? That doesn't sound like an attack by the terrorists..." Tikal mused.

Another cryptic message came in, and although everyone strained with all their might, only the pilot understood. He seemed to have some power for hearing quickly spoken, static jargon, and understanding it as if it were normal, perfectly intelligible speech.

"Uh... they're talking about sand or something..."

Every hero in the craft inhaled sharply at this revelation, immediately realizing the implications and ramifications.

"I knew it! I knew as soon as he left he'd go back to killing G.U.N. soldiers and destroying things! He's just as crazy as ever!" Rouge voiced the condemnation floating within all their brains, breaking her silence.

It was difficult not to agree with her synopsis of events.

"Algos is the bearer of the dragon. We must ensure his loyalty, and keep him from doing any more damage, or worse, getting himself killed," Tikal reminded them, obviously implying that if they had to search for and train two of the seven incarnations, a fight against Hydra would be hopeless.

"You just don't get it, do you?" Sonic remarked darkly, his eyelids closed as if he were relaxing.

"Get what, Sonic?" Amy shrugged. This simply questioned earned her a scoff of clear contempt that surprised everyone.

"Terrorists attack G.U.N. across the globe, at the same time Algos picks back up on his rampage," he remarked as if they were all ignorant little children. "Co-incidence, I think not."

Despite the unusually haughty tone he'd used in presenting his point, they all had to admit, there was validity to his argument.

"If Sandy had joined them, we'll just have to take him out too."

"Let us pray he has not, for then, all hope truly may be lost," Tikal lamented. It was unsetlling, even to Sonic, to hear such a proclamation of doom so grimly and hopelessly spoken by the princess. Previously, even in moments of seemingly impassable obstacles, Tikal was the one who had never given in to thoughts of negativity and darkness.

If the ever-cheerful princess was losing hope, how would the rest of them fare?

As these thoughts swirled into a maelstrom of chaos along with a thousand others danced in the cerulean hero's brain, the helicopter touched down on the outskirts of Eruthros, and the engine abruptly died, leaving them all in utter silence.


	5. Waking Nightmare

Author's Notes: the heroes' adventure in Eruthros begins! I've been really excited to get to this part of the story, because the events in the Red City will be a tad melancholy, but over the course of the next several chapters, the mood will gradually begin to shift as the plot changes pace.

Dark Maelstrom, I had actually written this chapter _before _receiving your advice on bumping up the minimum word-count of chapters up to around 3000+ words, so please don't think I'm ignoring your advice, I value it greatly, and am taking it into consideration with all of the new chapters I'm writing after this point.

For those of you who are interested, Eruthros is Greek for "red," and the events within the city (and arguably the story I suppose) feature a recurring motif of the color.

There are other names that are words in other languages sprinkled throughout the story (and In the End as well) so keep an eye out.

**Chapter 5- Waking Nightmare**

When they had unloaded from the helicopter and onto the grassy knoll, their first glimpse of the city was breathtaking. The metropolitan clump of buildings shone like a brilliant ruby, with scarlet lights peeping out from a thousand points. The iridescent red contrasted sharply with the sea-colored sky, and the gently rolling green hills that surrounded the city.

Smoke plumes rose from innumerable points in the distance, and this, along with dozens of small behemoths that glared down at them with their piercing crimson eyes, completely obscured the horizon for miles. At the center of this urban tragedy that stained the sky with ashes and blotted out the stars was an enormous, imposing spire, bigger than any by far in Central City or Station Square.

"This city is outside the reach of G.U.N." the soldier explained. "As citizens of the United Federation, you may find it hostile to you."

"Why?" Amy remarked in curiosity.

"There was a war, years ago, and this city was on the side that lost. There's still a lot of resentment because the city never fully recovered."

"So what you're saying I there'll be no help from G.U.N. when we go in, and we could be attacked at any time, whether this is a trap or not," Rouge responded coyly.

"Say, you're a smart one, aren't you? Might quick to catch on there, ma'am," the soldier replied sarcastically. "I'll be on this hill if you need evac. Good luck."

With that, the heroes entered into the city. It was no more aesthetically pleasing, or any less red internally than when viewed from afar. The same dull rust color that it appeared from atop the hill, every building and pebble was, and it seemed a light that didn't shine claret was rare. Poverty was apparent by the cobblestone streets and the derelict buildings. Litter and bullet casings covered the ground, and many walls looked as if they had been scorched by a fire many years before.

But perhaps most eerily of all, there was not a soul to be seen - anywhere. It struck Sonic then what this whole city reminded him of. It had seemed vaguely familiar, but up until now he hadn't been able to put his finger on it.

_Flashback_

_Torn and ruined buildings lay shattered all around, and in the air, not a noise stirred. After his initial surprise at being whisked away from the battle, Sonic began to look at his surroundings in dismay. _

_ The sky was stained blood red, and looked as if it had been torn to pieces. Smoke circled into the fiery abyss from every crag and empty ruin, as everywhere he looked, there was no sign of life. No children playing. _

_ No birds singing in the trees. The trees themselves were mutilated and bare, clawing at the heavens like skeletal hands, clenched in agony. _

_ "Where am I?" he muttered in horror, his emerald eyes darting to and fro, looking for anything that was alive. _

_ **'This is Central City. This is what will become of it if you fail,' **the Chimera answered, its voice grave and solemn as the speaker at a funeral. Sonic stared around at the apocalyptic landscape, daggers driving into his heart every moment with the sight of his grim surroundings. _

_ "Why did you show me this?" he growled, his fists clenched in fury, as a cold sweat began gathering on his forehead. _

_ The beast was silent for a moment, as if so deeply saddened by what it had shown him, that it had no words to describe its feelings. Sonic's eyes closed as he awaited an answer from his beast. Finally, after a drawn out pause, the Chimera spoke. **'So you can know the cause of my anger...' **_

_Sonic paused as he considered this, staring around at the ruined city. A fire burned in his veins unlike any he'd known, tears welling in his eyes as he realized the the fate of Central City. _

_ If they failed, G.U.N. would fire nuclear weapons that would surely exterminate all life within the sprawling metropolis. Sonic's tears now flowed freely, as he threw his arms into the air, and fell to his knees, the bitter drops of sorrow cascading down his cheeks. _

_ His clouded eyes darted to the ruined surroundings, finally understanding what it was that Havoc and his servants wished to accomplish. They were unlike Eggman, or Shadow, who had done what they did for selfish reasons, such as revenge or greed._

_ The Titan God lusted after nothing but death and destruction. And this was the offering that had been made to him, the prelude to doom. This would be the wages of their failure. _

_ "Please... I'll do anything..." he wept, fists clenched at the sky, imploring every power in the universe to hear him. "What must I do to prevent this?" Gently the Chimera swirled around him, golden strands of power trailing in lazy circles surrounding his form. A moment of silence passed, as his beast probed into his heart._

_ **'You already know what you must do.'**_

_End Flashback_

What had happened to this place, that it would resemble a ruined, Nuclear wasteland?

"This place gives me the creeps. Let's hurry up and find the Incarnation, and go home," Amy pleased, but she was all but ignored.

In the back of his mind, Sonic sensed something else familiar. A hovering, suffocating presence that made it an effort just to think... Where had he felt this ominous, dark weight before?

"I sense the Cerberus' energy within this city. He is here," Chaos remarked, letting them all know that at least their search had not been in vain.

But this nagging, persistent pulling within the sapphire hero's very soul... Could he possibly be sensing the Seventh Incarnation? Was that all this was?

"I suggest we split up into two teams. We'll cover more ground and find him faster," the god of destruction added, breaking Sonic's thought process.

"I agree. Me, Lord Chaos, and Amy will make our way to the city center. Sonic, you take Rouge, and Tails, and circle around the edge."

"I'm not leaving Amy!" Sonic growled, making the echidna princess' eyes widen in shock at his reaction.

"Y'know Scrawny, you need to make up your mind. One minute you're cold and off-putting, the next, territorial and overprotective," he smirked. "Just decide whether you like her or not and stick with it for _my _sake."

"Lord Chaos, Sonic's personal decisions are none of your concern," he pouted in response. "I understand that you want to protect Amy, but you cannot let your own feelings jeopardize the mission."

"What- what do you mean?" he stammered in disbelief.

"You don't remember what happened last time, do you?" Amy noted sadly. "I got hurt and you lost control. We can't risk that happening again, Sonic."

He felt as though a frozen ocean had just been poured over him, like the air had grown thicker, and unbreathable. Submerged in his sea of frigid confusion, he would drown, he would be crushed by the infinite weight, and whither away until the depths of darkness consumed him.

Amy said something else to him, but the water still clogged his ears, and although he saw her lips open and close three times, he heard nothing.

As the obscuring depths drained away and sensation once more had meaning, the first thing Sonic felt was a hand clasped onto his shoulder. Looking back, he saw the expressive aquamarine irises of the huntress.

"Come on," she announced the other three had already departed, leaving the street as desolate as a ghost town, he reluctantly complied, as another piece of his heart shattered.

* * *

Amy could hardly believe that she'd said what she had to Sonic, but was even more shocked by his response.

"_I love you."_

Those had been her exact words, and she'd spoken them as truthfully and as openly as she'd ever said anything in her life. But at her words, his face remained an unflinching mask, staring at her with eyes that held no emotion - just complete indifference, like she'd said nothing at all.

She had burst into tears, and hoping to avoid further confrontation and drama, Tikal had snatched her away, and the three began their search.

As they walked along, the princess had been stroking Amy's quills, and whispering words of comfort she wasn't paying attention to, but soothed her somewhat nonetheless.

Regardless of her numbness, she had clung to Tikal, and cried for a bit, resolved to stop it and be strong, and then quit just long enough to think, which inevitably brought on another bout of tears.

"Amy, everything will be okay, you'll see," the princess cooed, while looking at Chaos in desperation.

The expression on the god's face was not unlike that of a new father whose wife had just asked him to change the baby's diaper: confusion, concern, a hint of disgust, and almost utter unwillingness to act. She looked at him sternly for a moment, and as he opened his mouth to speak, a commotion sounded in the street ahead, cutting him off.

The heroes had, as of yet, seen not a living soul their entire journey through the city, nor heard the tweet of a bird or the rustle of movement anywhere. Up till now, it had been so silent that this relatively quiet noise seemed blaring and grabbed their attention even in the midst of Amy's emotional turmoil.

The trio looked down the street to see a pair of creatures approaching and speaking quietly to each other as they walked. Although they did not sport the chilling ebon cloaks, from their attire, their demeanor, and language, they were clearly no upstanding citizens, and probably up to no good. Chaos decided to confront them. He leapt into the air, reaching an impossibly high altitude, and crashing down directly in front of the thugs, shattering the stones of the street and knocking them flat on their backs with the sheer force of his impact.

The god of destruction smirked, and drew his platinum jacket more closely around him as he stared down at the bewildered fiends, and Amy and Tikal approached. The thug on the left was a red crocodile, and it was incredibly difficult to make him out amidst the decidedly crimson stained surroundings. A pair of spiked bracers adorned his wrists, and tattooed on his chest was a strange symbol that also appeared on the bicep of the other.

His friend was a cat whose emerald fur contrasted sharply with everything around. He had a distinctively over-done "punk" look, and it seemed there wasn't an orifice or chunk of flesh on his face that wasn't pierced. A torn, sleeveless jacked of bloodied denim hung loosely from his shoulders, and emblazoned on his right bicep was a strange, but easily identifiable symbol.

A solid black circle containing an ornate, crimson letter "H," all surrounded by a ring of white flames. Immediately recognizing the black with white flames as the mysterious organization's trademark symbols, they pondered over the meaning of the H.

"You two low-lifes seem awful lonely out here all by yourself. What are you doing?" Chaos questioned.

By now the thugs had recovered from their initial shock of being knocked backwards seemingly out of nowhere, and regained their defiance.

"We could ask the same of you. You're not from around here, are you blue-boy?" the taller crocodile responded.

"I'm the one who asks the questions here," Chaos answered, as he poked the crocodile in the eye.

"Hey, you better watch it-"

"Or what? I could snap your spine in two like a twig. I could look into your eyes and fry your brain. Before you could blink, I could incinerate your body, and most of this city block in an explosion of pure energy hotter than a burning star... And _I'm _the one that should watch myself?"

By now the crocodile began to look nervous, but the cat was still unconvinced.

"You're crazy."

"Lord Chaos, we don't have time for this..." Tikal reminded him, while gesturing at the still sobbing Amy.

"Say babe, what's wrong? Let me kiss it, make it better."

"Alright you creeps, why don't we all save ourselves some time. You tell me who's in charge of this city, and then I give you to the count of three to be gone, or I kill you," he paused a moment. "After that, I go kill the guy in charge and we call it a day."

"Phh. You can find the Agents in the City Tower, but don't expect to beat them with your little light show."

"You are really, really pissing me off, and that is a really bad idea."

"Really?" the cat remarked, two seconds before Chaos hurled a writhing ball of energy at him, and burned him to a crisp in the bat of an eye.

"Really," he replied to the pile of dust and ashes that remained. "Now you, where's the City Tower?"

After sputtering senseless nonsense for about ten seconds, the crocodile finally stammered that it was the massive skyscraper at the center of Erurthros, and then sprinted away with all his might.

"Lord Chaos, just what are we doing?"

The god paused a moment, as if unsure even himself. "Trust me on this. I've got a hunch."


	6. Wrath of a god

**Chapter 6- Wrath of a god**

Like a needle piercing the blood red sky, the titanic obsidian obelisk loomed before them. The building itself was only a few stories tall, but the black, Washington memorial-mimicking spire that sat atop it gave it the appearance of being the tallest structure in the city.

About halfway up the side of the tower was emblazoned the familiar symbol of the fiery black circle with the crimson "H," which by now they had realized to be the logo of the organization responsible for Nova's release, for Shadow's betrayal and death, for recent attacks against G.U.N., for everything.

Even more so than the rest of the city, the tower had a foreboding, ominous feel about it, and the very air in their lungs seemed frigid and poisonous. As the trio approached the front door, they were surprised to see it slide open of its own accord.

Amy let out a small squeak and fell backwards with a start, landing rather unceremoniously on her rear with a thud and a cloud of dust. "Flower, are you okay?"

It was clear from the reddened discoloration surrounding her irises that he was anything but, although the door was doubtless not the primary cause of her agitation. She ignored Chaos' question and continued to stare blankly ahead at the vast steel maw, which waited to devour them into an abyss of infinite, inescapable darkness.

The ominous chill had arisen to an uncontrolled fear, and for a moment the pink hedgehog simply sat there, petrified.

"They're expecting us..." Tikal concluded from the fact the doors had opened on their own. "This is a trap."

"That may be true, but I can sense the Cerberus nearby. His energy signature is calling out to me... He's here, I'm sure of it," the lord of destruction replied in an unusually solemn tone of voice.

Seeming to be unaware of the conversation the others were having, Amy suddenly exclaimed, "I don't want to go inside... I'm afraid."

Chaos placed a comforting hand upon her shoulder, and with his other hand helped her to her feet. "Why are you afraid? We'll protect you, Flower."

"I know that. I'm not afraid of getting hurt. I'm not scared for myself, I'm scared for you guys. I can't help but worry that my friends will need my help, that the day will come when I'll be the only one who can save the day, and that I'll be too weak... that I will fail you all."

Amy's confession came as an unbridled steam of words and tears that, while somewhat intelligible, was rather hard to follow. However, in that moment of revelation, Tikal and perhaps to a lesser extent even Chaos immediately understood. Amy had unwittingly laid her soul bare to them both.

It was obvious that her "fear" was connected with Sonic's apparent rejection. Her fear of letting them down was, at its core, fear of letting _him _down, and admiration of his strength and heroism. Deep down, she believed that the reason Sonic always resisted her was because she was too weak, because she wasn't good enough.

Part of her love for him had always been the desire to be like him, an intense admiration. For the longest time it had always been him saving her, time and time again. Some girls would see this as romantic and special, but how could she when Sonic saved the entire world and everyone in it, even people he didn't know or didn't care about. In her eyes, his protectiveness of her just meant that she was just another liability, another chore he had to do.

She wanted to be more than just a the weakest link; she had always harbored a fantasy of one day saving Sonic, of being his equal partner. But he was so strong, and she knew she could never be valuable to him.

She would never be faster than the fastest thing alive.

Tikal took pity on her, and gently wiped a tear from her cheek with motherly affection. "Amy, we can't go in alone. We need you, you're a part of the team. Will you show him that you are strong?"

"But I'm not Tikal! I'm the weakest one out of all of us. Even Tails is stronger than me now!" she sobbed, remembering when the fox boy was just a kid. Now he had matured into a teenager, and adolescence had kicked in, granting him strength superior to her own.

"You have more strength than you know: you have a strong will, and a pure heart. This is more valuable than physical power... it is inner power, and I believe that it can accomplish the impossible," the echidna princess replied.

Amy let out a small sigh, and gathered her courage, inspired by Tikal's words, and resolved to prove herself to Sonic. Without saying another word, she led the way forward, a fire of determination burning in her eyes. Tikal and the sky blue god followed after her into the cavernous doorway.

The moment the three of them were through the door, it snapped shut behind them with a metallic shriek, bolts and locks snapping the door securely closed.

"Well, looks like we ain't leaving that way!" Chaos remarked.

They took a second to inspect the room because in all honesty, a second was all that was required. The majority of any features that would normally be distinguishable were obscured by a thick, almost material dark. The blackness felt like it had weight and substance, as if the very air they breathed had been infected with some sulfurous poison.

At the far end of the room was a single, illuminated elevator car, with its doors hanging open and the plush interior completely empty. Other than this, there was nothing visible in the room. They moved cautiously towards the elevator, and as they did, they noticed that eerily, the inside had no buttons or controls of any kind.

When they had all stepped into the ring of light surround the elevator, a voice crackled out of its speaker system, as a security camera rotated to face them. The voice was sharp and snake-like, and every word seemed to be dripping with malice.

"My, my, what a pleasant surprise! Well, not really... we've been expecting you for some time now. Actually, you're fifteen minutes later than I thought you'd be. Run into some trouble?"

"Listen you dress-wearing psychopath, we didn't come here to play games!" Chaos roared back at the disembodied voice.

"Well! The playboy god has come to our city on business, not pleasure," he snickered. "If it's going to be that way, then what can I do for you _my lord_?"

Hoping to incur as little of Chaos' rage as was absolutely necessary, Tikal interrupted. "Surrender the Cerberus to us now, and we will leave peacefully."

There was silence on the other end. It dragged on just until the heroes began to wonder if the agent had left, when finally his chilling voice rang out again. "I'm afraid that's not possible. And ironically enough, not for the reason you might suspect," the vicious, sarcastic hatred in his voice was bad enough, but then...

"Tel you what princess... you, your pet god, and your pathetic pink tagalong ride the elevator up here. If you can take him, you can have him!" a manic, insane laughter emanated from the speaker, and abruptly died, leaving silence in its wake.

Realizing they had no other choice, and vindictive because he'd insulted them, the three of them climbed wordlessly into the elevator. The doors snapped closed, the demented laughter resumed, and the floor shot upwards without warning.

The building proper was not tall, so it didn't have to travel far before it lurched to a halt and a little dinging noise accompanied the doors opening. The demonic chuckle stopped only a second after its source became visible, as they came to the realization that it had masked the elevator music they would have otherwise been subjected to.

It was hard to say which was more intolerable.

The room they came into was drastically different from the lobby; it was almost homely. There were almost as many windows as there was wall space, and the space that wasn't occupied by a window featured diverse and strange decorations. There was a bookshelf lined with a variety of tomes, a high backed armchair similar to Sarx's, world maps with pen markings and pins stuck into it, and an intricately carved wooden coat rack. Elegant yet surreal paintings of mythological creatures and other strange things hung on the walls, and in the center of the room stood two identically dressed figures.

The heroes immediately recognized their attire as the cloaks that had been worn by Sarx and Eclipse, and since then had recurred as the predominant fashion statement made by the members of the organization, or as Chaos called it, the "dress."

The agent who stood on the left stepped forward, while his partner remained silent at his side. Apparently the superior agent who housed the voice like death spoke once again, responding to their initial surprise.

"What were you expecting, a cave perhaps?" he said mockingly. "We're not savages you know."

"Actually, kind of. The first floor looks enough like one," Chaos chuckled. "You really should fire your interior decorator."

"Aw... did it scare the big bad deity?"

"You've got a big mouth and a big attitude for such a puny mortal!" Chaos growled in response, seeming to inflate as he said this.

"What makes you think I am mortal?" he remarked, "Even you, god of destruction, are not my equal."

"You dare to blaspheme one of the nine gods?" Tikal scolded in disbelief, her eyes unusually cold.

"Your hypocrisy knows no bounds. You yourself revere only _eight _of the _nine _gods. I'm told you have no great love for _Havoc._"

"And you do? How could you help a being like that, who is bent on destroying everything good in the world?" Amy burst out, brandishing her staff angrily.

In response, the up till now silent figure approached her, looming above her threateningly. "First off, you severely underestimate the Titan God. But Chaos could tell you that..." he remarked.

"He's right, my brother doesn't just want to destroy the good in the world, he wants to destroy the bad as well..." Chaos admitted. "His appetite for destruction can never be satisfied." Chaos admitted.

"So logically, even if we were evil, what reason would we have for helping such an entity? You have misjudged our organization."

"Your reasons are of no consequence. No matter why you unleashed Nova, the ends don't justify the means. You're all despicable," Tikal insisted.

The left hand figure laughed at her in revulsion. "Your self-righteousness goes hand in hand perfectly with your hypocrisy and your ignorance, _my dear._"

"Enough! I'm sick of you guys and your philosophical bullshit!" Chaos exploded. "Let's finish this!"

"Very well. If you insist on interfering with our plans, there is no possible outcome but violence."

Simultaneously the cloaked figures drew their swords and pointed them at the heroes. Chaos snarled in anticipation of the coming battle, and pounded his fists together. An expectant pause filled the air, where not a combatant twitched, each one waiting to see who would make the first move.

All were surprised when the normally passive Tikal leapt forward with a savage cry. Birthing twin orbs of iridescent light into her palms, she lunged at the right hand figure, the sheath of energy on her fist missing him by a hair's breadth.

Amy joined her, swinging her staff with surprising proficiency at the robed menace. Mid-swing it had undergone a strange transformation, faster than the eye could register to be a beautifully engraved spear with a dangerously sharp tip. One would think a bladed weapon would be atypical of the bubbly pink hedgehog, but nevertheless she employed it with savage effectiveness, perhaps her fears dulled by the raw emotions burning in her chest.

With a maniacal chuckle exploding spasmodically from his lungs, the more overconfident figure rushed towards Chaos, his cloak billowing like a ebon wave, and his razor sharp katana gleaming brilliantly with the light generated by a glowing violet orb that lay cradled in his palm. Faster than a blue bullet, the god sprang into action, first feinting left, then flipping elegantly back, he and his combatant achieving a rhythm and fluency of movement that mocked the movements of exquisitely trained dancers.

The air rushed violently out of Amy's throat as the agent planted a firm kick in her stomach, and she doubled over, wincing in pain. Tikal didn't waste a moment, and even as she sprinted forward to counterattack, she laid her palm gently on the pink female's shoulder, releasing a pulsing cream light.

Her skin was momentarily covered in a sensation that seemed as if it burned like fire, but after a second's discomfort, a soothing warmth concentrated in her belly, as the healing effects of the light coursed through her. In her momentary distraction, the fiend took the opportunity to continue his bladed assault. The tip of his sword lanced through the air, and first slashed across Amy's stomach, nicking the flesh as she jumped back with a shriek, and drawing a considerable amount of blood.

Tikal knew it would be difficult to win at close range due to their enemy's sword, so she responded by firing successive Heavenly Arrows at the wraith. Proving that he was not invincible as perhaps it had first appeared, the figure was struck by one of the projectiles and hurled backwards, gasping heavily at the impact.

A patch of robe had been burned off at the agent's chest, revealing seared flesh underneath, but no distinguishable features. Growling angrily at having been struck, he trust his palm forward, muttering curses as a blinding crimson light gathered there. Electric sparks cascaded down the katana's silvery blade, crackling and buzzing like a hive of infuriated wasps. In an instant becoming nothing but a billowing obsidian blur, the figure attacked with vicious brutality.

Unleashing the claret energy contained in his fist on the unsuspecting Amy, the wraith easily dodged an attack unleashed in reply by the echidna princess. Swinging his sword in wild arcs, he ruthlessly attacked her, and she was taken aback by the speed and ferocity of his assaults, at a loss to avoid them.

Meanwhile, Chaos' opponent was haughtily toying with him; teleporting to make it extremely hard to track him and cackling as he struck trifling blows meant more to insult than to injure. The god's rage was building up within him, constricting around his chest at being taunted, and yet he knew that he could not unleash his full power, lest he risk also wounding Amy and Tikal. Yet his patience was quickly running out.

Tikal's thigh was pierced by the tip of her attackers sword, and the lethal sparks that had been dancing along the length of the blade now discharged into her flesh, jolting her backwards with a cry of pain as the aroma of charred flesh filled the scorched air.

From within the cloak the figure's hand slowly retrieved an embroidered handkerchief, and reaching down with undue ceremony, he stained it a rich crimson with the blood on the sword's tip. The cloth quickly disappeared back into the folds of the writhing black shroud and stored for later use.

The god of destruction had finally managed to get a leg up on his partner, although it was easily apparent he was still quite frustrated with the battle. His opponent was strong to be sure, but the incarnate deity usually relished a worthy challenge; he was also tricky and mocking. But now Chaos had him, weakened and dazed from a chance blow the god had managed to inflict a split second after the shadowy agent had appeared after teleporting.

"No way you wriggle away from me now you slippery little cross-dresser!" he roared. "Chaos Control!"

The god tapped into the power that he himself had invented, and froze time so that his enemy was perfectly motionless, clouding the ruined room around him with the blurred cerulean hue that the technique imparted.

"Now, let's finish this!" he laughed, his voice distorted by the time warp occurring around him. Summoning and incredibly powerful, pure white orb of energy into his fist, he aimed it directly at the heart of the still immobile agent, preparing to land a single, lethal blow.

His heart skipped a beat as the moment before the release, he felt the stinging tip of the second figure's blade cutting deep into his shoulder, as the white fire of excruciating pain wracked his senses.

'_This freak isn't affected by Chaos Control!'_ he cursed inwardly at this perplexing development amidst the unbelievable agony in his shoulder. Very few could possibly possess a technique to counter Chaos Control other than the power itself, which brought to light the chilling question of just how powerful this newcomer to the organization was.

But for the moment the immense pain of the attack blocked any deeper pondering of the implications of this from the cerulean deity's mind. His anger exploded as he momentarily became a being of sheer destructive force, his true form.

Rising ever so slightly off to the ground as if hung from an invisible string, the sky blue echidna's feet dangled limply underneath him without anything to support him. Without warning, a shock-wave emitted from his body, pulsing over the ground and throwing rubble into the air as his attacker was blasted back towards the wall.

In Chaos' eyes, the crimson veins became incredibly pronounced, pulsing with rage. His entire body in fact seemed to be pulsing, expanding and contracting in an unnatural manner akin to some sick parody of an exaggerated breath. A madly twisting scarlet illumination began gathering in his body, as the others stood dumbfounded.

"My lord, regain control of yourself! If you unleash this much power, the consequences will be catastrophic!" Tikal said at the top of her lungs, somehow managing to convey command and concern in the same breath.

Chaos took no heed: either not hearing or not caring. The iridescent glowing increased in intensity until it seemed to rival the very sun itself, and all were forced to close their eyes to keep from being blinded. Even before the attack was unleashed, the other four could feel the heat it generated upon their cheeks and were astounded... and afraid.

"**Holy Wrath!" **

With a blinding flash of light, a searing inferno flared to life inside the room, igniting the flammable objects instantaneously. The glass windows all shattered, sending shards of glass spilling onto the floor like a splash of liquid diamonds. An explosion of pressurized air blasted outwards from the god's form, throwing the occupants of the room about like weightless rag dolls.

Since he had lost conscious control of himself in his fury, Chaos was also affected by his own attack, and along with Tikal was hurled out of one of the many windows by the force of the explosion, the ragged glass edges slicing him as he tumbled out of the third floor and onto the unforgiving pavement below.

The support beams had been badly charred by the attack and were beginning to crack and buckle in their badly weakened state. At the same time that Tikal and Chaos were thrown out of a window to relative safety, Amy was hurled against a wall, and blood trickled out of her ear from the blast and the impact. 

As her vision blurred an her ears rung, the last thing she saw before the world turned to darkness was the support beams giving way as the ceiling caved in on top of her.


	7. Capture

**Chapter 7- Capture**

When the dust settled, the interior of the building was in complete disarray and destruction after the monstrous attack unleashed by the god known for those two things, and was being flooded with the deep claret light of the outside sky through the shattered windows. The bookcase had been overturned and scorched, and the many books which had been sitting contentedly upon its shelves were now scattered about the room, torn and half burned pages fluttering about in the wind, back and forth, back and forth.

The wind itself had a howling, abysmal sound to it, and seemed to be more the breath of some mournful organic creature than mere air in motion, first because it had an intense heat about it, and second because of the haunting noise carried upon it.

The ceiling's main support beam had collapsed, causing the massive ebony spire supported on the roof to topple over entirely, crushing another smaller building underneath it and adding to the collective ruin and despairing look the city had about it. The beam itself lay in fragmented pieces atop of mount of scattered decorations and rubble.

Abruptly, there was movement in the room, stirring the remnants of what had been with life. Coughing the clear the dust from his lungs, one of the robed agents pushing some ruined wood off himself, and rose to survey the remains of the battlefield.

Reaching into the tattered chasm of his black cloak, he breathed a sigh of relief when the cloth that had soaked up Tikal's blood was untouched by the fiery explosion. This would save him from the anger of his superiors, and it was one less set of Incarnation DNA they had to get.

Summarizing that his partner must have already escaped by teleporting away the moment Chaos unleashed his wild attack, the agent stood for a moment in wordless silence staring over the scene before he turned suddenly to go. Before he had taken ten steps, he was stopped by a small squeaking noise, and paused to listen. Clearly distinguishable was a muffled rustling and occasional groaning which could only have been the product of another living creature trapped in the rubble.

A moment of indecision and moral introspection came over the robed figure. If he saved the life of his entrapped enemy, they may continue to be a nuisance, or worse, he would be seen as weak by his comrades. On the other hand, leaving the creature to suffocate didn't bode well with him; he had no qualms about killing when he deemed it necessary, but he was always sure to make it a quick death, not slowly wasting away, trapped in some dark prison.

A solution drifted into his mind, as if carried there by the howling wind. He could "save" the trapped hero, but take them prisoner. That would, in the end, satisfy both his conscience and his connections. Whatever befell her at the hands of the organization was none of his concern, he'd done his part just by saving her from suffocation.

Having come to his decision, the agent searched the room to determine the source of the noise. Quickly he came upon an unconscious Amy, groaning in her sleep in a protected pocket just beneath a fragment of the collapsed support beam.

Upon seeing her, immediately he felt rather silly. "So she was never in any danger."

But after a moment's thought, he realized that when the looters shoed up to look through the rubble, when they found her, the terrible fate she would endure in this lawless city would be worse than death. Whatever his organization would subject her to would be a mercy compared to it.

"I can't very well leave her here to be raped or murder," he commented, speaking aloud when no-one was present but his sleeping captive. Dragging the beam out of the way with a considerable amount of effort, he hefted the pink hedgehog somewhat roughly up and into his arms, and began to stalk away from the ruined tower.

Sleepily and ignorantly she snuggled into his chest, and although startled and perhaps even a tad uncomfortable, the wraith paused only a moment, resolved to ignore her, and continued his purposeful stride. He walked through the dead streets at a stealthy and yet quick pace, as his heart accelerated slightly. Yet it seemed the faster he tried to go, the more his "prisoner" clung to him in her sleep.

At length they reached the outskirts of the city and traded the dreary crimson of the derelict urban center for the dreary crimson of the unwatered fields of sparse and meager grass, and the skeleton trees that appeared upon the hills occasionally. The grass made a seemingly unnaturally loud crunching sound as it was stepped on, it seemed the snapping of bones could not beat its volume.

Finally, they reached the mouth of a abyssal cave outside the city. Not hesitating a moment before the imposing formation, he walked inside with ease, seeming to have the ability to pierce directly through the almost pitch black conditions with his gaze. When he had journeyed far enough back into the maze of foreboding tubes and caverns as to be absolutely sure she could never in a thousand years grope about and find her way out again, he stopped.

His frustrated attempts to set her down was amusing to say the least, for by this time, she had latched onto him so tightly and snuggled into him so deeply that it seemed she was a warm, living vice clamped around him. When finally he was able to pry her away from him after repeated attempts, he set her upon the cave floor, and began to pace silently.

After a moment of though he cast his eye down at her, the slightest hint of a smirk creasing his lips. "That pathetic blue moron is not going to be happy."

* * *

When the heroes had split up into two groups, the second one that contained "the pathetic blue moron" had not gone far before they'd run into more of the seemingly ever-present robed villains. As had originally been planned, they circled around the rim of the city, encountering at first relatively nothing that was any different than what they'd already seen of the city.

The fact that none out of the three of them were anywhere near as experienced in picking up or identifying energy signatures made their search rather redundant, as they unknowingly moved away from where the Cerberus' energy was emanating from.

After maneuvering their way through narrow alleys, over cracked pavement, past scorched stone buildings and over a rust colored rivulet that swam down one street where a pipe had broken... they arrived.

Deep within the maze they had braved that was Eruthros, there was an oasis of residual life. A circular park, featuring sparse, dry sprouts and naked, shriveled trees served as the city's most lush display of foliage. Even as the ret of the city was dead, the courtyard seemed dead... for there was no sound of birds, or children, or living things of any sort. The fountain at the center of the park was rusting and yet functional, turning its waters to a deep hue of crimson.

"What's with this place?" Rouge murmured, expressing the eerie discomfort they all felt at the city's complete silence and ruin.

"According to my research, the city has long been known as t_he red city_," Tails replied. "In ancient times, the was originally built using bright red bricks and clay found in the surrounding hills, and the color-theme continued to present day."

"But why is it so..." Sonic grasped for the word that described Eruthros, but perhaps to truly characterize the city, a single word would not be adequate.

"Eighteen years ago, in the Global Civil War, Eruthros was extensively firebombed as a key enemy target. Because the city is constructed primarily out of brick, stone, and steel, most of the structures remained intact... but the brick houses acted as ovens, and baked their inhabitants alive!"

The trio collectively shuddered as they imagined the people's agony, and could hardly believe G.U.N. capable of such inhuman tactics.

"How many people..."

"Died? Nearly everyone, the city is all but abandoned as you can see. But as for the toll, it is estimated at about seven million," a new foreign voice replied.

"Who's there?" Sonic growled, birthing a madly swirling Shining Lance into his palm.

A pair of agents stepped forward, their hoods back. But to Sonic's frustration, they wore full-face masks that hid everything but their eyes. The one who had spoken had luminous scarlet irises, while his partner had simpler, brown ones.

"What do you care? You've killed plenty of innocent people!" Rouge shot back, her anger focusing on them as she remember that the organization they served was responsible for Shadow's death.

The robed figure laughed without mirth. "Innocent indeed. We've killed only G.U.N. soldiers so far, and we've already established just how _innocent _G.U.N. is."

"You can't blame each individual soldier in the military for what the organization did as whole!" Sonic replied in disbelief.

"True enough, but the deaths of the soldiers are not ones of revenge but of necessity. They're simply in our way, and must be removed for the greater good."

For the first time, the red-eyed agent's partner spoke. "Yeah, and the same goes for you!"

"Neos, be quiet! We're not here to fight, we're here to negotiate," he superior barked in anger.

Not giving them a chance to continue their banter, Rouge gave her icy response. "We don't negotiate with terrorists. You can tell it to the people who died when you unleashed Nova!"

"Far less, I might point out, than died when G.U.N. bombed Eruthros, and far less than would have died had they nuked the city," he snickered. "See, they care even less for their subjects than _we _do!"

As much as they hated these people's guts, the heroes had to admit they had a point. "Try me. What do you want?" Sonic snarled.

"To proceed with out plans, we require the DNA of the Incarnations. Surrender to us a strand of your hair, and we'll stop attacking G.U.N. bases. The corrupt officials at G.U.N. never have to know. You can tell them you defeated us."

"You're a liar. You yourself said that the deaths of the G.U.N. soldiers was necessary for your plans. Besides, we won't let you unleash Hydra!" Sonic replied wit his usual conviction and bravado.

"Very well. Then we shall take it from you, by force!"

All present sprang into action. Tails equipped his laser arm attachment, but it was obvious he'd made some intensive modifications. A metal shell crept outwards from the gun, soon encasing his entire body to create an inhuman metal exoskeleton.

The cloaked figures reach over their heads, drawing their billowing cowls down at the same moment. Then, with a lightning flash of steel, their katanas were drawn, and they rushed forward to attack.

Sonic was overcome with emotion, and he darted forward like a cerulean blur, tackling the red-eyed stranger to the ground in a single, fluid motion. Desperately the agent swung his saber, but the cobalt hero leapt back in the nick of time, while simultaneously battering his opponent with Shining Lances.

Rouge and Tails took on Neos, whose voice they had recognized as one of the two figures they'd met at Mephiles' lair three years before...

_Flashback_

_Draped across their bodies were long, obsidian cloaks that reached down to just below their knees, exposing the rather bland looking black shoes they were wearing on their feet._

_The cloaks seemed almost too large for the wearers, since they fit onto their bodies rather loosely, not giving any hint on the type of body structure of the two._

_The cloaks had long sleeves that were long and wide at the ends, only letting a few fingers from the duo's snowy white gloves poke out for the group of heroes to see clearly._

_Draped across their heads were large, loosely fitting hoods that masked the heads and top facial features of the two perfectly. All in all, not a single part of their bodies was exposed; it was all hidden by the strange-looking cloaks._

_But by far, the strangest characteristic on the supposedly obscuring cloaks was the white, flame-like pattern that covered them from top to bottom in an even rhythm, making about half of the cloak black and the other half white._

_The red echidna absentmindedly compared the flame-like patterns to the ones that covered Shadow's body when he had transformed into his Dark Super form._

_Complete and utter silence floated through the air before Knuckles finally gathered the courage to speak._

_"Who are you?"_

_In another wave of silence that passed, none of the two figures responded, making the echidna's temper flare slightly._

_"Answer me!" the warrior growled, his voice low and threatening._

_The two figures were seemingly unaffected by it, only continuing to stand there and stare at them like lifeless statues._

_Rouge gulped slightly, taking a step forward. "Is one of you...Shadow the Hedgehog?"_

_A deep, dark chuckle filled the air._

_The ivory bat blinked slowly, noting that the laughter was originating from the figure on the left, whose head was thrown back slightly._

_"No."_

_The response was simple, lacking in any kind of explanation for the chuckle beforehand. It unnerved the bat slightly at how bland and nonchalant the answer was, completely different from the sinister laughter he had just released._

_The figure on the right turned his head towards the other figure. "You fool. Our orders were to remain as obscure as possible, now they know the sound of your voice."_

_The figure on the left turned his head towards his companion as well, shrugging slightly. "Lighten up, metal-head. They know the sound of your voice now too."_

_Knuckles' violet eyes narrowed slightly. 'Metal-head? And his voice sounds so familiar.'_

_That remark seemed to cause the other's temper to flare as he jerked his entire body to face his partner. "I told you not to call me that! Others could take it as a hint to my identity."_

_The figure on the left shrugged again, jerking his head to look at the group of heroes. "Oh well, it looks like we'll just have to dispose of them."_

_"That goes against our orders," the other figure spat, slapping his comrade in the back of his hooded head with a loud thud._

_The more casual of the two figures rubbed the back of his head, grumbling something under his breath._

_"If we fight now, our energy signatures will be revealed momentarily. Others could locate our position and find us," the figure on the right reminded the other with an icy edge to his tone._

_"Not if we just fight hand-to-hand," the second figure responded evenly, unaffected by the threatening demeanor of his partner. "Our energy signatures won't be revealed then."_

_When the second figure didn't speak one word of protest, the more enthusiastic of the two stepped forward, alarming Knuckles instantly and putting him on guard. He heard Tikal, Amy, and Rouge also rustle behind him and knew that they were getting ready as well._

_"This should be fun," the cloaked figure sneered, alarming the red echidna even further._

_End Flashback_

He was every bit as strong as they remembered, and his sword as always made fighting physically problematic. Rouge was keeping the agent on his toes with adeptly tossed mini-bombs, while Tails fired off periodic charged blasts from his laser cannon.

The ferocity of Sonic's attacks were overwhelming his opponent; he moved fast enough to dodge everything, even a mysterious lightning attack the agent send out. After dancing through a rain of potentially lethal electricity, he countered with fierce rapidity. The hooded fiend was on the defensive, trying to avoid blows that seemed to come from every side.

Leaping into the air both gracefully and savagely, the cerulean hedgehog landed a particularly brutal kick to the shadowy figure's head, sending him sailing through the air, head over heals. He followed up with the light-speed attack, but he then combined it with his Kagami technique to create an initial mirror image.

Managing to rouse himself from the confusion caused by Sonic's first attack, the agent sliced through what appeared to be his enemy, but his sword hit nothing but air. Not a millisecond later, the real hero collided with him with the force of a truck, bombarding him in punches that all held tiny bursts of cobalt energy.

Finally he slammed the figure down, ending his flight through the air, and leaving him sprawled out on the ground, the tatters of his obsidian cloak resembling the scattered feathers of a fallen raven.

Neos had managed thus far to avoid all of the heroes' attacks, but Tails finally scored a lucky hit that glanced his cheek and tore a bloody gash in it. The agent's blood boiled as smoke rose in a tiny plume from his face, but his infuriation only served to make his counter attacks inaccurate.

Sonic stood victorious over the defeated wraith, the fiery passion of battle still burning in his eyes. He reached down, tearing the surprisingly soft, silky ebony hood off his opponent.

Beneath the cowl stared back the empty, white mask he'd seen before. With flame-shaped eye-holes housing crimson coals, the mask resembled an eerily grinning doll. The eyes were haunting and surreal... moving, and yet dead; simultaneously animate and lifeless.

The false face hid from him the identity of one of the shadowy figures who had for so long been protected by anonymity, while they continued to commit acts of terror and conquest. Their crimes were enigmas, their identities as mysterious as the dark hearts within them. And no-one had been able to touch them, they'd been immaterial as shadows.

But now, finally, this fiend was something he could touch, something he could defeat and expose; something corporal. He would destroy the mask, and then, he would look his enemy in the eye, and destroy _him. _

Summoning a blazing sphere of sky blue energy into his palm for this purpose, he raised it over his head like a dark avenger, a parody of his lost friend. As memories of Shadow flooded him, a single tear left the cobalt hedgehog's eye.

He slammed the shining lance into the mask of his assailant, and, as expected, the covering cracked into pieces, and finally shattered into dust. The particles of dust hung in the air for a moment, obscuring his enemy's face.

Then, as the dust cleared and his vision was unrestricted, his breath hung in his lungs as he looked at the face of the figure.

Instead of skin, the agent sported metallic blue plating, and his eyes shone with a brilliant crimson light. He had no mouth, no flesh, no soul. The face that lay hidden beneath the blanket of darkness and the expressionless doll mask was that of his nemesis, once thought dead.

It was Metal Sonic.

The cerulean hero was too shocked to move, too shocked to breath. He'd seen Shadow kill Metal Sonic himself. There was no doubt as to his death. Metal Sonic quickly took advantage of his disbelief and kicked him off. Growling electronically, he disrobed entirely in one fluid movement. Sheathing his sword, he blasted the still dazed Sonic in the face with a spark of electricity, before bellowing orders to his subordinate.

"Neos, we've been compromised. Retreat!" with this, Metal activated his jet, and sped away, little more than a colored blur.

Sonic still wasn't entirely coherent, but he knew that he couldn't let the newly unmasked agent escape. He swiftly followed after his mimic, accelerating in seconds flat to burn after him at ferocious speed.

Meanwhile Neos, still enraged from the blow Tails had dealt him, ignored Metal Sonic's orders, and stayed behind to fight Tails and Rouge...


	8. The Spartan

**Chapter 8- The Spartan**

The one remaining agent was infuriated by the bleeding gash in his cheek: a blazing orb of energy had cut through mask and flesh, drawing blood. Over this miniscule injury, he was now dead set on snuffing out the life of the innocent youth who had administered it. Neos had always failed to understand his organization's insistence on the use of the mask and robe; over their paranoia concerning their identities. After all, it wasn't as if the heroes knew him, or he had some dual identity.

And so, seconds after Metal Sonic's face had been forcibly revealed, Neos willingly tore of his own cloak, and then cast his mask into the dust at his feet in direct defiance of his orders. Before Tails and Rouge stood a brutishly muscled hedgehog, his fur an unmistakable shade of highlighter yellow. His form was covered in various scars, but despite his apparent physical power, his dull brown eyes displayed no remarkable intelligence.

His most recently received wound was dripping on his cheek, leaving trails of scarlet liquid running down his face, and dribbling into his mouth.

Excepting moments before when Metal Sonic had been exposed, this was the first time the heroes had seen a member of the insidious organization uncloaked, and the reckless abandon Neos displayed in showing his face surprised them.

The golden agent saw this opportunity and took advantage of it, lunging towards Tails with the tip of his katana pointed at the young vulpine's heart. Tails was even slower than usual in his metallic armor, and he couldn't possibly dodge Neo's lightning fast attack.

However, an instant before the sword came close enough to pierce his chest, he covered himself with his forearms, which were plated with heavily armored shields. A bit taken aback by the shock the coursed up his arm when his sword bounced back, Neos stumbled backwards clumsily.

"Hell, screw this flimsy toy. I'll tear you to pieces with my bare hands," be bellowed, throwing the katana aside.

Knowing that this was a foolish move born out of frustration and anger, Rouge leapt forward, deftly snatching the sword and turning it on Neos.

"You're fast, little bat. But speed will not be enough to save you from the might of Sparta!"

Rouge only growled in response to his boast, but Tails looked at Neos in confusion.

"Sparta? You mean like the ancient Greek city-state?"

"Who are you calling ancient? I happen to be as fit now as I was two thousand years ago!" the agent fired back, while flexing in self-admiration and kissing his own biceps.

"Uh... are you actually claiming to be old enough to have lived in ancient Sparta?" Tails pondered, wondering for a moment if the golden fiend was joking.

"I'm not claiming it, it's true. Ever heard of a little thing called the Fountain of Youth? The Spanish looked for it in Florida a long time back."

The heroes' eyes widened in disbelief as Neos chuckled. "That was just a myth! It doesn't exist."

"Every myth, every lie, contains a kernel of truth, boy. And it doesn't exist... any more," he sneered.

"So, are there any more like you? Was the fountain involved in Professor Gerald's research?" Tails asked in fascination.

"Tails, he's lying. He's evil, and we can't trust him!" Rouge reminded the fox protectively.

"Why would I lie, when I have nothing to gain? No matter. You're wrong in any case," he concluded, "evil is an objective term. All I want is freedom."

"Freedom... from what?"

A strange gleam came into Neos' eye, a look of nostalgia and suffering of countless ages heaped onto a single weary soul.

"Have you ever wondered... what it would be like to live forever? It's some peoples' dream, their fantasy. They don't know what it is they're after. They've been deceived. They want paradise. Eternal life ain't no paradise. To go on and on, never resting, always roaming, always searching for something eternal and solid when everything eventually dies, everything eventually rots. Generation after generation of friends and enemies die, leaving you behind, with their ghostly memory haunting your meaningless life forever."

"Wait, you want to die?" Rouge gawked. "I never thought I'd say this, but have you tried committing suicide? It might be mercy in your case."

A grim, dark chuckle escaped Neos' lips. "That's the ultimate irony: I can die, but I'm afraid to. I'm the world's biggest contradiction, hating life but fearing death."

There was a momentary stillness, an empty quiet of consideration and reflection. Neos couldn't explain why he had shared his soul with these two enemies, but he saw no harm in doing so. After all, he was going to kill them anyways.

"So... what are you trying to accomplish then?" Tails wondered aloud.

A smile spread across Neos' face, cracking the now dried blood than ran down his cheek. "He has promised anyone who joins his organization will come with him when he ascends to paradise."

This reply only served to further confuse them, and created more questions than answers. "Who has promised you this?"

"The leader."

Of course, Tails and Rouge's instant reaction was to wonder who this cryptic leader was, but they doubted he would tell them. Deciding against further question about this, they instead chose to pursue another point.

"Wait, paradise? Are you talking about the same utopia Sarx wanted to found?" Tails offered up this explanation, but Neos shook his head.

"Sarx wanted only power. But the leader are me are different, we want freedom," he replied. "Not earthly paradise where moth and rust still destroy, but eternal, heavenly paradise: true immortality."

Rouge couldn't stifle her laughter. "You think you'll get into heaven via mass-murder and terrorism? Buddy, if there is a heaven, you're not exactly on the fast track there with this whole death and conquest shtick."

"It is exactly because I'd never get in that I joined him. I need a back door," Neos remarked.

"This guy has you drinking the Kool-Aid* pretty bad, doesn't he? News flash: he's lying. You're being used by another power-monger," Rouge countered condescendingly.

"No, this is the real deal. I'm sure of it," he responded, professing his utter faith in the mysterious leader.

"How can you be so sure? Tails was desperately intent on getting more information out of this guy, since he seemed to be in a dangerously divulging mood.

"The prophesy. I can't say more. In fact, I've said far too much already. It's a shame, I kinda liked you guys, and now unfortunately I can't let you live."

Strangely, the Spartan sounded almost saddened by his duty, but it was clear by the homicidal twinkle in his eye that he intended nonetheless to carry it out. In response to this threat of death, Rouge raised the tip of her stolen sword to point it menacingly at their tortured opponent.

"Since you hate life so much, allow me to put you out of your misery," she growled, slashing and sweeping with the bladed weapon with amazing proficiency.

Neos dodged her fierce attacks with incredibly adept acrobatic maneuvers, simultaneously avoiding periodic energy projectiles from Tails. Over the course of his evasive movements, he inched gradually closer to the armored fox with deadly intent.

Tails saw him approaching and charged a brilliantly shining azure orb at the end of his cannon in preparation. Neos landed in front of the valiant fox, a sadistic smirk twisting his lips. Moving life a lightning bolt, he struck with great speed, unbelievable precision, and baffling strength.

Gripping the arm cannon of the genius inventor's exoskeleton, he flexed his powerful muscles and tore the attachment clean off, breaking Tails' arm in the process. The twin-tailed youth howled in agony, his vision quickly becoming clouded by tears.

Reacting quickly, Rouge came to the fox's rescue. Attacking Neos from behind, she warded him away from the vulnerable fox, but didn't score a hit significant enough to faze him.

"Give up. The two of you combined are not as strong as I am!"

The huntress smirked forebodingly in reply, and dropped Neos' sword to the ground with a dull clank. "That's where you're wrong. I house the Basilisk, legendary beast of the sea!"

Rouge's aquamarine eyes shone with a brilliant azure hue, as she tapped into the Zero Stage of her mythical beast. Manipulating the rusty water that flowed in the derelict fountain, she was soon surrounded with a dull red sphere of undulating liquid.

At her command, the crimson waters began to take on the form of the sea serpent. A viciously lashing tail sprouted out behind her, as dozens of grotesque, watery tentacles emerged from the side of her aura. They writhed and flailed about wildly, scatting rubble about the square.

Neos was unprepared for this development: he'd known she was an Incarnation, but he hadn't honestly expected her to use her powers, as if it hadn't registered in his mind that they were for more than just stopping the Titan Beasts. While the Spartan was gaping before her fearsome strength, she drew back her watery fin-encased hands, the stained liquid surrounding her churning in anticipation.

Releasing a torrential blast at a moment's notice, Rouge easily knocked Neos backwards and onto the ground, the water hitting him with such intense pressure that bits of skin and flesh were torn from his body. The blood that dripped from these new wounds served only to slowly stain the water an even deeper, more violent and malicious red.

Tails, despite having his main cannon torn off, was not completely without a weapon, and utilizing the backup energy blaster in his undamaged left palm, he battered the fallen Spartan.

Roaring in infuriation, the immortal warrior surged up, charging at Rouge with a cry of insatiable blood lust. He leapt around first one, and then two pressurized funnels of water, managing to avoid further damage as he approached the Basilisk wielding bat like a hell-bent demon.

Four tentacles composed of her watery aura darted out faster than a blink, and wrapped around Neos' arms and legs. He gasped in shock and struggled violently against the restraints, writhing like a fish torn out of its natural habitat.

He managed to break one of his arms free despite the vice-grip of Rouge's hold, and began pulling on the very tentacles that bound him, using them as ropes to advance ever closer to the huntress herself.

Rouge was dismayed by Neo's grim determination; he had the true spirit of a warrior. He was dead-set on spilling their blood, and nothing save death would deter him. Desperately she latched onto him with even more watery tendrils, until it seemed he should not even be able to breathe with the pressure she was exerting.

'_His internal organs must be crushed to jelly by now!'_ she thought in terror, _'Maybe he is totally invincible.'_

But despite being alive regardless of the crushing weight Rouge was constricting around Neos, he could no longer move, and was held in place, immobile.

Whereas moments before the Spartan had been fierce and savage, he now looked strangely limp and melancholy. Initially the heroes though that he had in fact finally died, but after a few seconds, be began to take in sharp, ragged breaths, proving this to be false. His previous struggles seemed had contained unbelievable strength, but his power seemed to have waned in a matter of seconds, leaving him sapped and drained.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Finish it!" he growled. "But the boy struck first. Let him kill me, and then he'll be a warrior. Then he'll be a man."

_Flashback_

_The young hero couldn't believe it. His plan was destroyed, he had forgotten the very basics of biology and the race of the foe he was dealing with. Still feeling immense heat stinging at his body, Tails began to back up even more, with Komodo's following stride not breaking._

_Reeling back his head, the lizard's gaping mouth released another wave of fire, speeding directly for the two-tailed fox. With a quick and sloppy barrel-roll, he managed to avoid the attack, crouching behind a large computer, his back to the piece of machinery._

_About three seconds passed before the barricade he was behind erupted in a fierce, fiery explosion, knocking Tails back at least ten feet._

_He landed on his back, his teeth clenched in pain, his eyes wide. Propping himself up on his elbows, he started to rise to his feet._

_Until Komodo landed next to him, slamming his scaly tree trunk of a leg onto his chest, instantly knocking Tails back on his back and earning himself a blood-curling scream of pain. The dragon was an expert combatant; he knew that he had ruptured and perhaps crushed some internal organs with that blow. Yet, to his mild confusion, no blood left the young boy's mouth or nose._

_Dismissing that small fact as irrelevant, he smirked, putting more pressure on the foot he used to keep Tails on the ground. It was over, the young fox's only weakness was exposed: his lack of raw, physical strength._

_With a deliberate slowness, Komodo's tail curled into the air behind him, its sharpened tip waving around dangerously like the stinger of a scorpion seconds before a venomous strike._

_"You've lasted longer than I expected, kid, I'll give you that much."_

_A cough from the downed Tails._

_The dragon's tail rose high into the air, the tip pointed directly at Tails like it had a mind of its own. Komodo repositioned the leg he had on the fox's chest onto his stomach, making it perfectly clear that he was going to stab the hero in the chest._

_"You're so young, killing you doesn't seem like the right thing to do," he hissed, his tongue flickering around his lips before he crackled in a fit of demonic laughter. "But then again, I've never been one for mercy or a conscience."_

_With the single, quick, lethal thrust of a cobra, the tail slammed into Tails' chest, buried itself deep within his flesh, and came out of his back, slamming onto the concrete beneath him. The fox's eyes went wide for a split second before they became hollow, his body going limp and lifeless._

_Silence floated in the air like the lost balloon of a child._

_Even the machinery around them seemed to cease their beeping and works for this small hiatus of peace. Wordlessly, Komodo's long, serpent-like tail was ripped out of the lifeless body of Tails. Curling it behind his body, the lizard's cold green eyes scanned over the fatal blow he had delivered to his opponent. His chest was basically gone, nothing but a gaping black hole taking its place._

_Komodo sighed. Killing someone, whoever it may be, was never an easy task. The fact that he had just murdered a young boy did not suffice to his guilt either. But, that was the way the world was. People died, and the grim reaper was not picky. Women, men, elderly, children; they all fell before death's black hand. It didn't mean that Komodo couldn't feel a slight sting of remorse though, but it wasn't new. Every time he had killed someone, that thorn-like pain irritated him._

_The trick was simply numbing it away. He had told the boy that he didn't have a conscience. That wasn't true, he just knew how to suppress it._

_With a final glance, the dragon scanned over the boy's body. Death wasn't very easy on the eyes either. Body pale, eyes robbed of their sparkle, blood every-_

_Blood._

_Blood?_

_What blood?_

_Icy realization hit him. 'Why isn't there a single drop of blood?'_

_Numbness washed over his body like a cold, dead stream. He blinked hazily, teetering to the side, having to catch himself from falling. Slowly, he moved his head, his eyes staring at the mechanical claw below him. It took him a moment to realize that said claw was stabbed straight through his chest. He saw rivers of fluid scarlet wash from his body like a leaking drain, and then came the pain._

_The mind-bending, torturous, horrible pain._

_Trained his whole life as a warrior, he did not scream, only gasped as he clumsily fell to his knees, his eyes still dead-set on the claw sticking out of his body._

_His vision caught a cluster of blue sparks. Raising his blood-soaked face up ever so slightly, he saw the fallen boy before him sizzle with electricity, the image of his body fading away like a broken television. Static seemed to ripe through Tails and then his whole persona simply blinked away, replaced by a mannequin-like robot with a hole in its stomach._

_Komodo's bloodied lips cracked into a smile. "I see, you...replaced yourself...with that...thing."_

_A bloody cough._

_Behind him, the young Tails closed his eyes, turning his head away from the gruesome scene he himself had caused. His virgin touch of innocence was broken; he had killed someone. Respecting his dying opponent enough to not let his sentence fall on deaf ears, he replied, his voice croaky and heavy._

_"Yeah, I used a hologram projector to make the android look exactly like me, while it camouflaged my body." He raised the tiny eye-like ball into his field of vision. His maneuver was all about replacement, and it had worked perfectly._

_Komodo released a short, hoarse laugh. "Outsmarted by a kid, and here I thought I had you."_

_Tails couldn't hold back a choked sob. "I'm sorry, I wish it didn't have to come to this."_

_His vision beginning to darken, the lizard warrior smiled again, droplets of blood falling from his chin. "Don't worry about it, kid. I was exactly like you when I killed for the first time. It's difficult, but it turns you into a man."_

_With a swift tug, Tails ripped the mechanical claw he had attacked to his left hand out of Komodo's dying body. Without the support, the dragon began to fall to the side, but Tails rushed forward and caught him, lying him down gently on his back._

_"With my...death," he coughed, "You...will become a warrior. Don't back down...from your foes...no matter how strong...they are."_

_His hitched breathing ceased._

_Unable to hold himself back, the young fox collapsed to his knees, his forehead slamming onto the cold, metal ground. Tears flowed freely from his closed eyes, the blood of the one he had killed staining his soft fur._

_End Flashback_

"I've already taken a life, and it's something I regret every day," Tails answered, "So if that's what it takes to be a man, I want no part of it."

The golden vulpine looked at the Spartan, and gazed into his hollow eyes. He could see that what the agent had said about his tortured existence was true; the expression of suffering and despair that filled Neos' eyes was forever burned into his memory.

"But, I pity you. You deserve to end your wanderings, and go to your fate, whatever it may be," the fox finally stated, the mask of his armor crawling back to reveal his face. "Neos, I grant you your freedom."

With the Spartan held securely by Rouge's tentacles, the young fox stretched out his hand and began to charge a fully powered energy blast. Waiting as the shimmering orb grew to the size of a basketball, Tails looked into those brown eyes of untold sadness and released the attack.

The searing light collided with Neos' chest, blasting out chunks of singed flesh and releasing a shower of blood. The Spartan's eyes widened, as his mouth silently moved and the hedgehog's muscles bulged all at once, as if desperately trying to expend all of their energy. Rouge relaxed her hold, allowing him to fall limply to the ground, smoke rising in a steady plume from the hole in his chest.

The two heroes stared for a moment at the motionless body, and then turned to one another. "Why did you do it Tails?"

"I released him from his suffering. Now he's free."

Rouge bit her lip at this response, surprised that Tails could simultaneously be disgusted with killing but, in this case, think of it as a mercy.

"Regardless, our little discussion with him answered a lot of questions about the organization. But it raised even more!" the albino bat mused.

"His answers were certainly strange... Something about a prophesy?"

"Believe me Tails, that's nonsense. Like I said, I bet their leader fed them all that line of crap to get them to follow him," Rouge insisted.

"Alright, so supposing you're right. If the leader knows that they're not going to heaven, then he's got some other goal in mind," Tails deduced. "But it's all so strange: what connection could his plans have to the Chaos Emeralds _and _the Titan Beasts. They're not even related!"

Rouge thought for a moment, without coming to any conclusive answer. "Sarx seemed to think they were conquering the world... some bull about eliminating prejudice. Maybe that's it?"

Tails' brows furrowed in uncertainty. "Why release the Titans then? You can't exactly rule the world if there's no world to rule."

"Maybe they expect us to defeat them, and release them in order to weaken the resistance before their true operation?" She supplied.

"Perhaps... That seems awfully risky though. What if the Incarnations failed? The world would be destroyed. No, that's can't be it..."

An expectant pause fell over the courtyard as they both realized Sonic was gone, and could be in need of help. And there was the mystery of Metal's survival and position in the organization.

"We'd better regroup with the others and continue the search," Rouge sighed, while glancing about the ruined square. "The sooner we can get out of this hell-hole, the better."

"Did you see which way Sonic and..."

"Metal Sonic went?"

Tails nodded, his face clouded with doubt. He'd seen Shadow use brutal and unnecessary force when he destroyed Metal Sonic and killed Dr. Eggman three years before. There was no way that anything could have survived the massive attack the Ultimate Lifeform had used.

_Flashback_

_With a fully charged Chaos Spear in his right hand, Shadow leaped from platform to platform, getting closer and closer to Metal Overlord._

_"I have to wait until his shield is down," the ultimate life form muttered to himself as he landed on the highest platform, right below the metallic beast._

_After a few seconds of waiting, the wind ruffling his quills and fur violently, Shadow saw his opening. The shield around Metal Overlord began to diminish before it disappeared. The second it did, Shadow shot off at incredible speed._

_"Chaos..."_

_The giant airborne robot barely recognized the impending danger of the ultimate life form before it was too late. Appearing right above his giant crimson and silver head, Shadow's right arm, sizzling with the power of his Chaos Spear, shot forward._

_"...Spear!"_

_Metal burned and was crushed under the force of the ultimate life form's attack, making the metallic menace shriek out in pain._

_"AAHHHHHHHHH!"_

_Shadow smirked as he landed on the smoldering head of the metal monster, his ebony and crimson body glowing a hellish red._

_"Chaos Blast!" Shadow shouted at the top of his lungs, sending a huge wave of red energy shooting outwards in all directions._

_Sonic's eyes widened as he landed after having damaged the Egg Serpent. Something was illuminating the blue sky a dark shaded fuchsia! Turning his head, he saw Metal Overlord being enveloped by the attack. The sphere of energy was huge, at least a hundred feet in diameter!_

_'It must be Shadow and his Chaos Blast,' the cerulean hedgehog thought._

_The blue blur smiled dryly, so this was what happened if Shadow absorbed the power of two Chaos Emeralds._

_Amy and Tails cheered from the sidelines as they saw Metal Overlord start to plummet to his doom._

_Rouge smiled, hiding her mixed emotions inside. Sure, the metal monster was probably defeated now, but was killing him really necessary?_

_Sonic wouldn't have killed his metallic counterpart, not even Knuckles would have._

_...Only Shadow._

_Shadow smirked sadistically as he shot off the now falling robot, it's fiery embers representing eyes slowly fading into darkness. It's giant body began to accelerate towards the main deck of the ship, metal and armor falling off it like a snake shedding its skin. _

_End Flashback_

If the being they had seen was in fact the real Metal Sonic and not a copy, that meant the one Shadow destroyed had been a fake. But how could a fake Metal Sonic be powerful enough to transform into Metal Overlord? It didn't seem possible.

And even if they could uncover the answers to this mystery, it still didn't explain what Metal (or possibly his copy) was doing in the mysterious terrorist organization.

With these wonderings coursing through their brains, the heroes began to wander away from the scene of the battle, hoping that they were going in the right direction.

After they had left, the original deathly quiet again fell over the square. Laying in a puddle of mixed blood and rust water, Neos twitched.

One eyelid opened to scan his ruined surroundings. Seeing that his enemies had bought his act, he slowly stood. The abdominal wound he had sustained was now closing at an alarming and unnatural rate. 

"As much of a curse as that damned Fountain has been, the accelerated healing is always nice," he snickered. "Good thing too, it would have been a shame for me to have to kill those nice kids."

He paced slowly towards his sword, wrapping it in a cloth, namely his robe. "Thank you so much for taking the bait and picking up my sword bat-girl. That's one more Incarnation DNA sample acquired."

He smirked as he left the square. Everything had gone exactly as he had planned. Appearances can be deceiving; perhaps he wasn't so unintelligent after all.


	9. The One True Sonic

**Chapter 9- The One True Sonic**

Racing, even under such pressure and conditions, always brought joy to Sonic. He relished the challenge provided by a worthy opponent, and in terms of speed, Metal Sonic was second to none. For a moment, he almost forgot that his competition was a hated enemy, and envisioned himself once again having a friendly race with Shadow.

But Metal Sonic was not Shadow, and that was made clearly apparent by his tactics. Shadow may have always arrogantly considered himself superior to the cobalt hero, but he always played fair, or at least _had _until Mephiles appeared to him on that fateful day.

In contrast, Metal Sonic wasn't content to simply race Sonic, he was out to kill him, and left no holds barred. As the mortal enemies sped through the streets, making tightly angled turns and soaring jumps, Metal took every cheap shot that came his way, attempting to fry his pursuer with electrical bursts.

The cerulean hero laughed, jumping into the air and doing a back-flip to avoid the deadly spark. He was enjoying himself, even in the midst of all of the mysterious occurrences, even with the mission and the violence... He was undergoing catharsis, and beginning to be regular Sonic again.

'_That's what Shadow would want, _he realized. _'He would have wanted me to move on and be myself.' _

For what seemed like the first time in months, the speed demon's usual toothy grin found it's way onto his face, his sparkling grin illuminated by the light of the crackling lightning Metal was releasing. He would win this race, for Shadow.

Metal Sonic was now hovering in reverse, a plate opened in his chest to reveal dual machine guns. "Die, my loathsome copy!"

Spraying bullets in every direction while he continued to launch whizzing orbs of electricity from his palms, and somehow he was still able to navigate the streets moving backwards at incredible speed. Metal Sonic was indeed a dangerous adversary.

'_Looks like he's picked up some new tricks since we raced last!' _

Well did Sonic remember the first time he and Metal had raced, years before. Doctor Eggman, who at the time still bothered to insist on referring to himself as Doctor Robotnik, had kidnapped Amy. That was how he'd met her for the first time; she'd endangered herself by claiming to be his girlfriend.

Sonic had won that epic race on the Starlight Speedway, and had rescued Amy from the clutches of the nefarious doctor. In the time since then he'd saved her again and again, and yet he never tired of it, it never lessened his admiration for her cheerful yet fiery spirit. He wanted to always make sure she was safe.

But she could never know the way he felt. He had too many enemies, dangerous enemies who, like Eggman, wouldn't think twice about using her to get to him. He would endanger her, which was exactly the opposite of what he wanted to do. If anything ever happened to her, he would die even more inside.

And so, he hid his true feelings from the world and from Amy, out of fear.

But Metal Sonic of course, having been based off him, had a firmer grasp of his psyche than anyone, even his closest friends. This made him perhaps the most dangerous enemy the cerulean hero had ever faced: he anticipated Sonic's moves, he knew his thoughts, his weaknesses... he was built to be superior in every way.

Why then couldn't he beat Sonic? Why had he always lost?

Today he would not lose. He had ensured it. Sonic was in for the surprise of his life. 

The robotic agent had intensified his attacks in rage: he was now firing his dual machine guns furiously, hurling sparks of electricity, and firing off guided missiles in an attempt to blow Sonic sky high. He would have been able to lock on to his opponent, but Sonic was moving faster than ever before, seeming to be invisible to even Metal's advanced optical processors.

Once again the azure hedgehog's laughter echoed in the otherwise quiet city, competing for dominance with the sounds of his nemesis' arsenal. The more the hero chuckled, the angier Metal Sonic became, and the more viciously he attacked. The more fury he displayed, the more Sonic somehow avoided taking even one hit, and the more he laughed.

"Inferior fleshling! Why don't you die?" Metal growled, as the pair suddenly braked, and came to a stop on a hill outside the city.

Sonic was grinning with confidence, while Metal was livid and yet the robot almost seemed tired, as if exhausted by Sonic's persistence.

"I just have one question I want to ask you," Sonic smirked, his jade irises shining. Metal Sonic growled in infuriating, which was probably not an expression of consent, but the azure hero merely continued.

"How are you still alive? I saw Shadow blow you to smithereens, and then kill Eggman," he thought aloud, not knowing whether or not to expect an answer.

Although still enraged, Metal cackled insidiously. "That old fool's death was a a part of my plan from the very beginning you idiot! He was old-fashioned, a sentimental, washed-up romantic who dreamt of conquest because he deluded himself into thinking he could make the world a better place! I was beyond him."

Although Sonic harbored no great love for the doctor, even _he _would not say such things about him, especially now that he was deceased. "He was your _maker_!"

"I had betrayed him before, so do you find it surprising I'd do it again? He was a fool to have reactivated me," Metal Sonic said in reply, referring to the first time he'd transformed into Metal Overlord after imprisoning the doctor.

"No, but I didn't expect you to kill him!"

"Ah, ah, ah. Are you forgetting that it was your ex-bestest buddy Shadow who killed that obsolete fool?"

Sonic growled slightly, he was in no mood for mind-games, and Metal's disrespectful mention of Shadow angered him. "You said yourself that you planned for him to die!"

Metal was silent for a moment, before he turned his back on Sonic and gazed out, over the horizon, as if searching for something. "That is true."

"But why? Why kill him? And why fake your own death?" the cobalt hedgehog was determined to have the answer to his original question.

"With the doctor dead, I now have sole control over the machines he built... the whole 'Eggman Empire,' or what's left of it," he scoffed electronically. "And I used a copy of myself to fake my death, like you said, to make my entry into Hisaki a secret."

_Flashback_

_"You were a fool to let them go," a dark robotic voice sneered from the shadows of Eggman's control room._

_"Don't scowled me, you worthless tin can! You'd be dead if it wasn't for me!" the Doctor shot back, his brows angling inwards, physically showing his annoyance and anger._

_"That is why I will help you now. Your end of the deal is complete, leave the rest to my organization," the other voice explained calmly, only this time it seemed to originate from a little farther to the left than the first although it sounded exactly the same, "Besides, I have a debt to repay to that blue hedgehog as well."_

_"Then wait on the main landing platform outside and take care of them," Eggman commanded, pointing at the large door of the metallic room._

_Two pairs of bright red eyes flared out of the darkness, but only one voice spoke, "With pleasure."_

_End Flashback_

"Hisaki? What is Hisaki?" the hero questioned in confusion, as the name was unfamiliar to him.

"_We _are Hisaki, the organization you been battling this entire time. Everything that has happened so far has been according to plan, from the very beginning..."

"What do you mean?" Sonic's mind was in a whirlwind of disorientation at the recent succession of stunning revelations.

"Mephiles reappearing to Shadow: according to plan. Everything with Eclipse and Shadow, we've been involved from the very beginning."

"No... impossible!" Had they all really been acting exactly as the villains wanted them to this entire time? Had everything they'd done been for nothing?

"Our fingers are in every pie, our noses are in everybody's business. And you've been a tremendous help," Metal Sonic sneered.

"**NO!**" Losing his restraint, Sonic surged forward, birthing twin Shining Lances to life within his palms at a moment's notice.

"Foolish, sentimental hero," Metal Sonic growled as he quickly drew his katana. "Your connections make you weak... they make you vulnerable."

Sonic approached at lightning speed, the sky blue orbs of power swirling within his hands like tightly compressed hurricanes.

"Only by severing yourself like I did from the doctor, like Shadow did from you weaklings, can you taste true power!"

Releasing his charged attacks, Sonic cursed under his breath as his imitator activated a swirling ebony shield at the last second, deflecting his attacks as if they were harmless flies.

"No, you're wrong. Friendship and love make us strong, not weak! We'll defeat your whole organization, and we'll do it together!"

It seemed their physical battle and their verbal one were the same, as the movements of their bodies and the rhythm of their attacks moved in perfect cohesion with their words.

"Ha, we'll see how much strength you have when you're all alone," the monstrous robot cackled. "They'll all abandon you, whether by death, or by choice. And then, when you are utterly forsaken, you'll come crawling to me, begging me to end your misery!"

It was clear from Metal Sonic's taunting tone that he was referring to Shadow and Algos, but how could he know what had happened with the two of them after their battle with Nova, he didn't know, and it disturbed him.

"Shadow bravely sacrificed himself to put a stop to your sick plans!" he yelled confidently while simultaneously hurling a compressed Shining Lance.

Blocking the attack with the flat of his sword, Metal took the offensive. Lightning crawled up the length of his blade, arcing off and discharging against anything that got close as he spun the sword.

"You're an ignorant fool! He betrayed you, even in the end!"

His vicious, cutting words were launched with as much ferocity as the swipes of his sword. The cerulean hedgehog seemed to be unaffected by either, easily side-stepping every attack.

"That's rich coming from the knock-off who ditched his creator," Sonic smirked.

Metal seemed almost alive; he possessed such fury and screamed with such intense frustration and pain that it seemed impossible that he could be robotic. This was Dr. Eggman's ultimate cruelty: he had designed Metal to be able to feel emotion, which was revolutionary in the programming of AI. But he had deemed it unnecessary to impart Metal Sonic with feelings of benevolence or love.

The soulless robotic abomination's greatest agony was his very existence, and the sole capacity that came with it to feel hatred and fury. In some way he was still acting out the doctor's original programming, still a slave to him. Somewhere in the twisted depths of his artificial mind, he believed that if he could kill Sonic, it would bring him some sort of closure.

In truth, he wanted to rebel fully from Robotnik's original intention, but because he was an incomplete being, an abomination without empathy or goodness of any sort, he was locked into his hateful existence.

As Sonic and his copy leapt over and around each other, hurling and dodging attacks, shouting verbal assaults accompany their physical ones, they began to move at such tremendous speed that it was difficult to tell them apart. Once again the plate in Metal's torso opened, and the guns inside him peppered the yellow hill in a continuous stream of smoldering lead.

Sonic took a more physical approach, bounding over his copy and kicking him in the back of the head with brutal force. A metallic clang resounded loudly over the open field, as Metal Sonic fell forward, screaming and spraying bullets and electric charge fruitlessly at the ground as he went down.

"You cheap little bitch!" he bellowed, as he scrambled to his feet.

"Yo momma!" the ever-cocky blue hero responded, apparently not considering that the only 'parents' Metal could be considered to have were him and Eggman.

Never stopping with the hail of bullets or his crackling sword swipes, the metal monstrosity transformed one of his hands into a massive cannon, and began firing off mortars and laughing insanely.

"You're losing your touch, Metal Me. You're using four different weapons and still can't hit me!" he laughed after jumping out of the way of an explosion, seemingly untouchable at his tremendous speed.

Overwhelmed and frustrated, Metal decided to pull out all the stops. It would seriously drain him, but he would use everything he had. Still employing the weapons he had used up to this point, he fired off missiles at his enemy, his deranged laugh still competing with Sonic's amused chuckles.

Seeing these as well fail to destroy the loathsome copy, he suddenly stopped channeling his electricity down his sword, and instead began to call down bursts of lightning from the sky. Clouds had already swirled high in the heavens, but now it began to rain as he channeled his electricity, drenching the battlefield.

But instead of washing away the horrors of battle and bloodshed, the water falling from the heavens only seemed to make the scene more grim and abysmal, filling pot-holes with muddy sludge and adding to the rust of the city.

"Feel the power of my Raiden attack!" Metal Sonic yelled over the thunder as a particularly vicious bolt narrowly missed the heroic hedgehog.

Sonic was on the defensive, but he felt like the speed training he had been doing was paying off. Despite Metal Sonic's unbelievable power, he was dodging it all with relative ease. Incredibly, it seemed he had gotten _faster_! Even with the full might of Metal Sonic's new and improved arsenal bearing down on him, he hadn't taken a hit.

Finally, the blue blur took the offensive, narrowly dodging first one explosive mortar, and then a missile. He side-stepped bullets with ease as he inched closer to his target. Attempting to call upon his latent powers and access the Super Form, the hero was surprised when instead of his usual surge of energy and golden sparks, there was only a dull click as his form failed to release.

Perplexed but nonetheless hopeful, he tried tapping into the Zero Stage of the Chimera, with the same effect: nothing. This momentary distraction from his approach gave Metal a chance he would have been foolish to pass up, and he used it to catch his nemesis unaware.

Sonic was struck by a full blast of electricity from the sky, illuminating his skeletal structure for a split-second before passing into the Earth. The force of the blast threw him to the ground, and smoke rose from his charred, bloodied flesh.

In all his years, in all his battles, the hero felt he had never been dealt such a fearsome blow: his heart was racing, his lungs struggling for breath. Every muscle in his body ached and his insides felt as if they had been consumed by fire.

And yet, in defiance of the crushing blow, the cerulean hero slowly and painfully rose to his feet, scarlet rivulets tricking down his heaving, soaked form.

"Damn you, what does it take to kill you?" Metal lamented, as he pointed his mortar cannon at the arisen hero.

Wiping a trail of blood that threatened to trickle down into his eye off his forehead, he stood tall, and bellowed his powerful reply in spite of the feebleness of his body.

"You creeps in Hisaki have been doing as you please, taking what you want for long enough. You've taken countless lives, and you took Shadow from me. But your reign of terror ends now. As long as there is a breath of life in me, as long as I have an ounce of strength, I will not rest, I will not stop hunting you. You can't kill me, not until you drain every last drop of blood from my body."

The fire of determination within Sonic's eyes was simultaneously fearsome and heroic. For within it burned a hatred of Hisaki and all that they were, but this very loathing had given him new courage, new purpose, new resolve.

"And I swear by everything that is good and holy, if you so much as lay a finger on my friends, I will make you pay."

Metal Sonic was confused, because at his copy's words, he was experiencing an entirely new emotion, one he was sure the doctor had not programmed in him. It was a nervous, icy feeling inside him, like his stomach writhed with a pit of frozen snakes. For the first time in his existence, Metal Sonic knew what it was to truly be afraid. It would not be the last.

"You cannot stop us. Your very attempt is the fulfillment of our plans. But to sit back and watch as we do as we please? You've already said you won't do that. You don't have it in you."

Sonic gathered two brilliantly shining orbs within his palms as a low growl escaped his lips. He began to advance, stalking closer to Metal with murderous intent.

"I don't care if I have to kill every one of you personally. I defeated Sarx, what makes you think I'll stop there?"

A moment of absolute, uninterrupted silence where even the rain seemed to be mute split the air as Sonic's words echoed through the grassy plain.

"You sound more and more alike _him _all the time," Metal said with a smirk of satisfaction. "Besides, you didn't kill Sarx... the crumbling tower did."

"What? Impossible!" he stammered in disbelief.

"Even in your enraged, most powerful form, you lacked the spine to finish the job. Even your fluffy little brother can boast more than that."

Sonic was stunned by the truth of Metal's words. Through it all, he had never found it within himself to kill anyone, even as Dark Super Sonic. Why was that? Was he afraid he'd lose a piece of himself, that a fragment of his soul would die? Or was he simply more cowardly than he'd realized?

Clearly, if this organization of conquest and terror was to be defeated, he would have to overcome this difficulty... starting now.

"Things have changed, Metal. I have changed. I'm still the same one and only Sonic, but now I'm ready to do whatever I have to, to put a stop to you for good!"

Metal released a maniacal snicker, as he and his near-identical counterpart stood an arm's reach from one another, much like a yin-yang: a light and dark reflection of the same complete circle.

"That will be easier said than done. As you can see, I've invented a piece of technology that negates your ability to use any released form. It was a prototype developed by the doctor to combat your cursed Super Form, but I've made some of my own improvements to the device. You can expect to see more of it in the future."

"So that's why my powers weren't responding before!" he exclaimed, pondering the ramifications of this new technology.

"Yes... and you have yet to meet our leader, compared to whom, I, Sarx, even Eclipse are mere trifles. If you continue to interfere, you'll meet him soon enough. And I promise you, you won't like what you find."

"Ha, are you going the threaten me all day, or are we going to fight? Put your money where your mouth is!"

Following up on his confident remarks by flinging his dual Shining Lances at Metal Sonic, the azure hero drew back his fist to finish the job. To his shock and horror, Metal Sonic brought down his sword faster than he could react, piercing his leg and pinning it to the ground.

Howling in pain, he desperately tried to pull the sword out, but Metal was too strong, and it remained firmly anchored to the Earth beneath him. He was in far too much pain to possess the concentration necessary to form any sort of energy attack, and considering his physical inferiority to Metal, it seemed as if he was caught in a checkmate.

"Not so heroic without your world-famous speed, are you?" the distressed robot cackled. "Despite your clear weakness, through sheer luck, and reliance on your blasted Super Form, you've managed to beat me all of these years!" 

Metal stoped for a moment and almost seemed to inhale without lungs, as if savoring the smell of victory. Then he raised his left hand, and pointed the barrel of the mortar cannon directly at Sonic's head, point blank.

"Today, I will know how it feels to be the one, true Sonic. I will finally be rid of you."

Amidst the wracking agony and the stinging tears filling his eyes, Sonic managed to choke out a response.

"_You will never be_ _me._"

Roaring in infuriation, Metal fired his mortar, igniting the hill-top in light and fire. Even he was blasted backwards by the force of his own attack, and had to rush back up the hill as the explosion subsided.

But in the crater where Sonic had stood there were no remains, and even the sword that had held him in place had been forced back with metal Sonic, the hero's blood dripping from it's tip.

Suddenly Metal Sonic became aware of the crunching of grass behind him, and turned to see four ominous robed figures approaching. One of them was the gold-trimmed leader, his commanding presence seeming to silence even the beating rain and mournfully crying winds.

"You had strict orders not to kill any of the Incarnations, and not to reveal your identity Metal Sonic! His lordship is most... displeased," the figure to the right of the leader called out.

"Misos, your rank is below Metal Sonic's, and it is not fitting for you to scold him, or to presume to voice my displeasure," the black presence said softly, almost fatherly. "You are no longer required here. Go into the city and find the Hound. Recover him."

Misos silently and indignantly did as he was instructed, as the other three surrounded Metal Sonic. "Is he dead?"

"No my lord, I felt a pulsing of energy just before I fired. Someone must have used Chaos Control to save him," Metal Sonic answered stoically, hiding his rage at Sonic's escape.

"But you did pull the trigger, so intent to kill was present regardless."

"I offer my most humble apologies, my lord. That is the only area in which I differed from your instructions."

"Excellent. Then everything is going according to plan. He is firm then, in his opposition to us, just as we expected," he said in a tone that suggested a strange level of affection for someone he had just declared to be the enemy.

"He promised to kill all of us if we brought any harm too his friends," Metal Sonic reliveded the same fear he had experienced before upon voicing the hero's threat.

The enigmatic leader turned to face the blood-tainted city, with its columns of smoke arising from fires that seemed to be eternally burning like hell on Earth, fires ignited on that fateful day. Eruthros was practically a dead city, but it was _his _city. What the war had done to it was mirrored by what it had done to him.

But it had to be this way. It was the only way things could be, because some things change, but others, they never do. He would redefine the world's perception of an absolute and wake them up from their apathetic slumber.

The world would change, whether it wanted to or not. That was the nature of a revolution.

"Did you get a DNA sample?"

"Yes, my lord," Metal Sonic replied as he presented the leader with his sword, stained in Sonic's blood.

"Good. That's four samples already acquired. These fools have played right into our hands with this fruitless search for the Cerberus. Soon... very soon, we shall unleash the great serpent, and then, we will be one step closer to the ultimate prize."

The other Hisaki members stiffened at his mention of their eventual goal. "You know to what I refer. Do not lose sight of our glorious victory! All personal concerns much be secondary to the grand mission of the organization as a whole!" he stared directly at Metal Sonic as he said this, obviously implying his attempt on Sonic's life.

"Hail Hisaki!" the group rang out in unison, before following their leader back into the blazing city.


	10. The Echidna Legacy

**Chapter 10- The Echidna Legacy**

A quiet had fallen over Angel Island. The isolated locale had always been secluded and peaceful, but the suffocating noiselessness that hung over it today was anything but peaceful. Even the usual chirping of the local birds was silent, and Knuckles had removed himself from the company of the other two in the hopes of finding solace at his favorite meditation spot.

Nestled within a grove of moss-covered trees was a diminutive waterfall, which discharged its contents into a still, shallow pool that fed into a narrow silent brook. The trees there were knotted and scarred, seemingly ancient, and he often felt as if they were elders watching silently over him, and guiding him. Normally, he felt comforted in their presence, but today it seemed they were staring down condescendingly at him. Even here, his restless spirit could not find peace.

There was much indeed to be distressed about, but as opposed to how hectic life simply always was, recent evens seemed to carry a current of foreboding that he had not felt in a long time. Knuckles felt as if he was poised on the brink of an endless chasm, peering down into obsidian darkness of immeasurable depth, and slowly, gradually slipping irrecoverably in.

In some ways, the Master Emerald was as much a curse as a gift, for it showed him visions of the future from time to time, but he had no control, and it was always exceedingly vague. He'd seen fire rain from the sky like a holy, terrifying, purging rain, and ashes and cinders falling like a grim parody of snowflakes.

He'd witnessed a shroud of impenetrable darkness unfurl over the Earth, as thunder and lightning split the heavens, and the world was submerged in rivers, seas of blood. Terrible, horrifying visions appeared to him, ones of death and destruction on an apocalyptic scale... but he could neither stop them, nor understand them, he was enslaved to the emerald in every respect. It was his burden.

He had always believed, or perhaps dared to hope that if one glimpsed into the future, the vision seen was a mere possibility, and could be affected by one's choices. Why then was he never shown any good futures, any visions of happiness? Was everything he'd been shown inevitable, or was there still hope? If if couldn't be stopped, why bother to show him at all? Would attempting to prevent them in actuality bring about their occurrence? Did he even want to know the answers?

He couldn't say. But one thing he did know, he felt something terrible approaching, a darkness which dwarfed even the mighty Nova, who had taken all seven of them to dispatch.

Almost seeming to mirror his dark reflections, the guardian became aware of a pair of new presences on his island, disturbing his thoughts and lending urgency to his movements. He leapt to his feet in an instant, racing through the dense jungle and towards the energy signatures. Pushing vines out of his way and trampling over a myriad of colored leaves, he quickly came to a clearing where he had left the others.

"Silver, Blaze, hurry!" he gasped, without stopping. "There are intruders on the island!"

Seeing the fiery echidna genuinely distressed was a cause of alarm and concern, so without question or protest, they followed behind the guardian as he dashed away. His breaths were labored, as sprinting wasn't his forte, but the determined spark in his eye revealed that his physical limitations were inarguably under the control of his force of will.

"They're nearby, I can sense them," Knuckles growled as he caught his breath. The heroes scanned their surroundings, diligently searching for any unfamiliar appearances.

"We're like, behind you dudes, for real!" a voice called out suddenly, prompting the three to violently turn and face another pair of anonymous figures in Hisaki robes.

"What are you doing on my island?" Knuckles challenged despite knowing full well their intentions could be nothing good, his fist pointed threateningly at the intruders.

"Don't be so naïve. We're here for the emeralds, for one," the more intellectually acute of the two responded, pointing at the Chaos Emeralds held by Silver and Blaze respectively.

"Well you won't be getting any of the emeralds, especially the Master Emerald!"

"Your obsession with that _rock_ is almost amusing. Nobody is after that tired old thing, especially now that _he_'s come back," the wraith answered with a distinct hauteur.

"Who's come back?" Blaze demanded, igniting her fists in an instant with a burning fire.

"Dude like, the god of destruction-dude, man like for real," the figure's billowing black cloak seemed distinctly less terrifying and impressive when he... spoke. It was hard to take anything he said remotely seriously.

"Razor, will you be silent! It's bad enough there are only two of them here without having to listen to your unending chatter!" his superior responded spitefully, almost seeming to harbor as much scorn for his own subordinate as for the heroes.

"Um... I think your counting skills may be just a little... off... Maybe you didn't notice me, but there are actually three of us," Silver said, amazingly without spite or sarcasm of any kind, as if it were just an honest mistake by an honest person.

Stepping forward menacingly, the senior Hisaki member drew his sword. "You confuse my meaning, boy. It wasn't to the quantity of our opponents that I referred, but rather to the number of Incarnations!"

"I get it! You're after Silver and my hair strands or blood samples so you can light the goblets and unleash the next Titan Beast!" Knuckles yelled in anger. "Well buddy, if you think you can just waltz in here and-"

"There is no time for any further delays, Razor. I'll take this one," without any further warning, the shrouded figured raised one arm, fast as lightning, to release a blindingly fast obsidian blast that cracked and sparked as it struck the unsuspecting and unprepared guardian.

The world became a blur for Knuckles as he flew through the air, electric crackles leaping off his body. Carried backwards by the unbelievable momentum the attack had given him, he crashed through tree branches, showering the ground in yet more fiery leaves.

Vertigo and adrenaline coursed through his body, as dizziness birthed nausea, and his stomach churned. The branches he'd sailed through had slowed his flight, but they had not been kind to him, slicing tiny cuts in the guardian's toned form.

Finally he crashed down, smashing into hard, unforgiving stone as his impact sent pebbles and dust into the air. Dazed and confused, he coughed raggedly to clear the dust from his lungs, his senses totally numbed and deadened, as the figure slowly approached.

Stars spun in Knuckles' vision and the world was a blurry and jumbled mess of white hot pain. The guardian had landed far enough away that the others were specks at the very edge of his vision, and behind him lay the cracked and derelict remains of a long-forgotten civilization.

The pyramidal structures towered above him, their graduated steps housing the dust of countless centuries. Their shadows soon melded with another, a moving, undulating darkness that seemed not to touch the Earth as it moved in utter silence.

Chuckling ominously, the wraith suspended itself a few feet in front of Knuckles, the folds of its robe continuing to fluctuate with the force of a light wind. Right then and there, when Knuckles was stunned and defenseless, the malicious presence could have easily dispatched him and taken the DNA strand he was after. But he simply stood there, motionless, waiting and watching.

Rising with grim determination, Knuckles winced as residual pain shot up his leg, but he stood and faced his opponent nonetheless. Even through his infuriation and disorientation, the scarlet echidna felt some strange familiarity with the Hisaki agent, which was peculiar considering that he was still fully robed and masked.

Perhaps it was his enemy's energy signature, but it felt so vaguely similar... Yet he couldn't place his finger on it, as if it was so very instinctual and subconscious that he couldn't logically recall it, like memories of learning to walk as a baby.

Standing and facing each other at the foot of the ancient ruins, the warriors remained motionless, allowing the same foreboding emptiness which enshrouded the island before to rule for awhile.

"Who are you?" Knuckles broke the silence, because the question had been eating away at him since the stranger had appeared on the island, but now even more so since he'd been struck by his attack, and been puzzled by his energy signature.

"I know who I am, which is more than you can claim," a deep, menacing voice replied.

"What are you talking about? I am the last echidna, guardian of the Master Emerald," Knuckles was in no mood to wax philosophical with the invader, and he wouldn't tolerate mind games.

"Pitiful, wrong on both accounts. So it's true then, you have no idea where you came from!" the agent laughed mirthlessly. "Did you ever consider that the simple fact you were here all alone as long as you can remember doesn't mean it was always that way?"

"Well, of course there used to be other echidnas, I had to come from somewhere. But they died when I was very young..." Knuckles was unsure of exactly where the robed figure was going with this, but he wasn't so eager to fight that he'd turn down free information and a chance to fully recuperate from that first nasty blow, even if a few taunts accompanied it.

"Convenient that you, defenseless, practically in infancy, were spared while the rest were killed..." he snickered.

"Wait, you mean that... the death of my family was deliberate?" he paused and contemplated. "How do _you _know this?"

"Let's just say... I have first-hand experience!"

This was too much, all the anger-management courses in the world could not have prepared Knuckles for the wild, uncontrollable rage he felt. It was as if lava boiled in his veins instead of blood, and tongues of flame leapt off his body in a physical manifestation of this.

He charged forward, roaring like an enraged beast, his eyes devoid of any compassion or restraint. The robed figure leapt back, his sword flashing out of its scabbard and darting towards Knuckles in repeated jabs.

The incredible heat emanating from Knuckles' body was like a miniature sun, and soon the fire leaping off him swirled into more deadly and raging infernos. Mini cyclones of flames seemed to twist and revolve around his body, as a pair of massive, flaming wings sprouted from his back.

"What in the name of-" his question was cut short as he had to jump to the side, as a burning Knuckles swooped at him like some kind of hellish eagle, droplets of fire raining off his body as he passed over the ground. The grotesque wings he had sprouted as a variation of the Phoenix Form flapped in a steady rhythm, suspending him just off the ground.

Growling in irritation, the agent gathered a hissing light in his palm, hurling it at Knuckles with all his might. The orb of energy split into five smaller balls, each crackling and whizzing as they drew nearer to the guardian, their sounds splitting the air.

Launching high into the sky, the guardian surrounded himself in a violently shifting sphere of volcanic matter, which acted as a perfect shield when the Hisaki agent's attacks finally hit. Descending from this vantage point at incredible speed, he took the offensive.

Not content to simply await his doom, the robed figure unleashed blast after blast, his eyes narrowing as the echidna twisted and darted in the air, avoiding countless spheres of deadly light. As he drew closer to the fiendish figure, Knuckle's lips twisted into an uncharacteristically dark sneer, as the blaze surrounding him grew even hotter with the force of his fury.

'**Guardian, regain control of yourself. You are abusing my power by harnessing your anger, and it will set back your progress in synchronizing yourself with me,' **the Phoenix gently chided, her voice as soothing as ever even amidst the gravity of the circumstance.

Knuckles seemed not to take heed, slamming into the Earth in front of his enemy at fully force, walls of fire cascading out from his body. The agent deftly leapt over one barrier of flame, but was buffeted by the next, sending him sailing to the ground.

The grass that sparsely grew over the stone flooring and the vines that covered the ancient ruins had been lit aflame, giving the long dead ruins the appearance of being on fire themselves, and depositing piles of new ash and dust on top of the piles of old ash and dust.

Knuckles gathered all the fire into himself, and is it was devoured into his dark aura, it swirled around like water going down a drain, forcing the villainous figure to duck as it twisted overhead.

Knowing that Knuckles had not in fact tapped into the Phoenix Form, but rather that he was using some corrupted, incomplete variation of it, the agent quickly assessed that he would burn his energy quickly and heedlessly, so it would serve his interests to stay onto the defensive until Knuckles had exhausted himself.

But the guardian's newest offensive was terrifying to say the least. Having gathered all of the stray flames and plumes of fire that had previously been writhing about the clearing into himself, he was now preparing to rain them down from the sky in deluges of searing heat.

He looked like a demon straight from hell, twisted wings flapping to keep him suspended in the sky, and pillars of flame barreling down on the ground with voracious intensity. The agent was at a loss to keep from being incinerated, but he could feel his enemy's energy levels dropping unbelievably quickly.

He just needed to hold out against this fearsome Dark Phoenix Form Zero Stage awhile longer. Knuckles grew tired of his impressive, but nonetheless ineffective flaming rain, and instead took a more direct approach, hurling flaming orbs and energy attacks at his assailant from a close distance.

The robed figure could feel the immense heat of Knuckle's aura, and it made sweat break out all over his body.

"You've grown powerful. More powerful than I ever imagined," he admitted, a strange nostalgia present in his voice. "But it still won't be enough."

Detecting a minuscule hole in the seemingly invincible flaming echidna's shield, the agent created a tiny, dark sized energy sphere on the tip of his finger, firing it directly through the hole with deadly and uncanny accuracy.

Striking Knuckles directly in the chest, the attack packed a surprisingly potent punch for it's comparably minuscule size, leaving a scorching burn on the echidna's chest, and greatly disrupting his focus, while contributing to his anger.

'**You must snap out of it. Let go of your anger. Use the pure form of my powers, and you can defeat him!' **the Phoenix warned, hoping perhaps this time Knuckles would heed her.

He did not.

His lack of concentration caused more weaknesses to manifest in his fire shield, putting his body under stress as he expended even more energy fruitlessly hurling attacks at the robed menace. Finally, out of pure luck, one managed to strike him, directly in the chest.

Knuckles sported a satisfied smirk, but as the robed figure rose to his feet, instantly, the fires went out. His eyes doubled in size as the guardian's pupils shrank to the size of pin-pricks. His mouth hung numbly open, and his mind raced, so occupied that his Dark Phoenix Form had been totally lost at a moment's notice.

The robed figure stood there, a massive hole burnt in the front of his robe. The flesh was seared underneath, but still had easily recognizable distinguishing features. Slate grey fur sported a white crescent moon birthmark, identical to the one on Knuckles himself.

"Time to turn in, Knuckles," the mysterious stranger growled, as he unleashed a swarm of tiny energy bursts in the blink of an eye.

These all flew at the still stunned Knuckles as fast as bullets, striking him repeatedly, and leaving him laying in a smoking crater.

The agent silently approached, his torn cloak fluttering wildly. He gazed down at Knuckle's bashed and bloodied form, knowing full well he would live. Growling slightly, he bent down retrieved a white cloth from the folds of his robe, using it to soak up some of Knuckles' blood.

"So much for an easy grab and dash," he muttered, as he stalked away from the scene of Knuckles' defeat to regroup with Razor.

Author's Notes: this was shorted than the last couple chapters, but that's because I spoiled you guys with an extra juicy 4k+ word Metal Sonic chapter. For future reference, chapters will always exceed 2.5k, and I'll aim for 3k, but please don't complain because some chapters end up long, and some end up shorter. It's not because I give less attention to those chapters, it's simply because the events that I slotted into that specific chapter in my storyboard planning took less description.

**ANNOUNCEMENT: **_I'm currently holding a Fanfiction of the Year 2010 contest for the Sonic the Hedgehog community in multiple categories. Compete against other authors in a variety of competition to show off your stories and original characters. The winners will get bragging rights for life, and I look forward to submissions from all of you!_

_Head on over to the forum for more details. _


	11. Dragon Tamer

Author's Notes: Sorry about the long wait guys, this chapter just gave me loads of trouble, in addition to school, life, and trying to get rolling on Ebony and Ivory. In the future, updates will NOT take this long, hopefully, and I'll be able to update the two stories sort of intermittently. In any case, enjoy the story.

**Chapter 11- Dragon Tamer**

Silver and Blaze were shocked to see Knuckles hurled away into the distance with the force of the first mysterious figure's attack, and the mysterious wraith disappear after him without warning. This left them alone with Razor, two against one. Blaze quickly recovered from the surprise of Knuckle's flight, and regained her usual stoic mask, whereas Silver had to gawk for awhile before he could return his attention to their enemy.

The remaining cloaked figure, by his sheer manner of speech, had already demonstrated his lack of refinement if not intelligence, but they needed to be careful not to underestimate an opponent they knew so little about. He stepped forward, the flame shaped holes in his haunting mask revealing dull amethyst orbs.

"Looks like I have to take on you two, for real," he chuckled, as Blaze ignited ferociously burning orbs on her fists.

"Do you end every sentence in that ridiculous phrase?" she mocked, but if we was insulted, he gave no visible sign. Instead he reached into the folds of his cloak, retrieving a vicious looking whip with ghastly spikes. Silver wondered idly how he stored the weapon without wounding himself, for it was so covered in thorns that it looked as if it would tear flesh from bone.

With his other hand, the agent drew his brilliantly shining katana, bringing the two weapons together before coming into a fighting stance. "Do you know what the red is, dudes? It's blood, for real."

The violet cat seemed unimpressed by this seemingly unnerving remark, charging forward without warning, her flaming fists extended. Seeing his friend attack, Silver followed, clenching his fists to command the roaming winds that soared through the air.

The gales whipped the obsidian robe violently about, and carried the sounds of the agent's overconfident snicker through the air as he spun in a circle, the bladed whip forming a wide arc around him. Her face a stony mask, Blaze ducked underneath the fiend's whip, the burning attacks still cradled in her palms.

Coordination seemed to flow supernaturally between the two heroes, as Silver latched onto the figure's whip with his telekinesis as Blaze was making her final approach to release the flaming orbs she'd prepared. The heat of her attacks emanated throughout the air, making each combatant perspire in abnormally large amounts.

Razor struggled in vain to free his whip from the unseen grip Silver had on it. The muscles of his arms strained vigorously, flexing and pulling, but to no avail. He was trapped by his own weapon, and Blaze's fiery fists were rapidly moving towards him.

Then he moved, faster than the heroes had seen anyone apart from their cobalt or obsidian friends move, like a greased lightning bolt. Razor let go of his whip momentarily, ducked low and spun mere inches off the ground to avoid an igneous punch, popped back up to smack Blaze in the face with the flat of his sword; all before the handle of his whip could fall to the ground.

Rationalizing that the ivory hedgehog's psychic grip on the weapon was likely concentrated in a point at its end, he tightly gripped the handle and used Silver's own hold as leverage to swing horizontally over the ground in a wide circular arc. He smirked as he flew through the air, twisting in mid-flight before he landed a shattering double kick to the back of Silver's head and making him fall forward with tremendous force.

Blaze retaliated to protect her vulnerable partner, charging forward with a fiercely burning aura, leaving a trail of sparks and lazily floating cinders behind her. Razor was caught off guard by this wave of fire that crept out in every direction from the cat, but he leapt backwards, avoiding the flaming onslaught by mere inches.

By now Silver had recovered from the wound to his balance if not his pride, and the two heroes faced the hooded fiend side by side.

A small smirk began to appear at the corner of the ivory hedgehog's lips, as he clenched his fingers into tight fists. A ferocious gale roared though the open meadow like the howling of a ravenous beast, tearing up blades of grass and swirling around a collection of brightly colored leaves.

The abyssal cowl that covered that agent's head was thrown backwards as his cloak whipped about violently, making the ivory flame markings look as if they fluctuated and moved like the true manifestation of the fire they imitated. The removal of the obsidian shroud revealed the face of the soulless alabaster mask staring unflinchingly at them from behind the veil of darkness.

Silver's wind condensed itself into a roaring funnel, as his forehead creased with concentration. He willed a blast of air in Razor's direction, knocking the insidious terrorist into the air. Blaze quickly conjured a pair of volcanic orbs in her palms and hurled them at the airborne wraith with remarkable ferocity.

Razor managed to block the first flaming projectile with the flat of his katana, which glowed a luminous orange color from the immense heat of the attack. Knowing that blocking the second would melt his sword, Razor tried to dodge it by shifting in mid-air, but couldn't respond quickly enough, and was struck directly in the leg. Searing through his cloak, the flames burned away skin and flesh, leaving a smoking gash as wide as a fist on the mysterious agent's leg.

Silver and his feline companion inched cautiously towards the whimpering figure, who was still in shock, but knew he'd been badly wounded. His whip and sword lay scattered carelessly in the field, along with burning scraps of his tattered midnight robe.

"You guys are tough, for real," he coughed breathlessly, his chest rising and falling erratically. Blaze summoned a crackling scarlet orb within her hand, but whether she was just playing it safe, or intended to finish their enemy off, Silver couldn't tell, and didn't wait to find out, stepping protectively in from of the injured Hisaki member.

"No Blaze, you can't kill him," he insisted, as his strong-willed friend growled.

"He's a terrorist, Silver. Shelve your naiveté, we don't have the freedom to let dangerous criminals like him live."

"It's wrong. Everyone has good in them. Besides, if we take him prisoner, we might learn more about their organization," he suggested.

'_Why is he protecting me?' _Razor wondered, as he silently witnessed the exchange and clutched his ragged wound.

"Only if we torture him, and you'll whine if we do that too. It's not worth our time," she countered sarcastically.

"We shouldn't make a decision like this without Sonic and the others here," he pleaded, golden eyes wet with emotion.

"Knuckles could need our help right now. We don't have time for prisoners!"

"You burned off the muscles of his leg," he countered, pointing a finger at Razor. "He's not going anywhere."

Dull amethyst orbs visible through the flame shaped holes of the ivory mask flicked to Silver and narrowed slightly.

Blaze seemed conflicted between listening to Silver and violating his request. She bit into her lip with fiercely sharp canines, pondering the situation before coming to her conclusion.

"Alright Silver, you win. We'll take him prisoner," she contested begrudgingly, stepping towards the fallen agent without malice. Reaching forward, she gripped the edges of the inhuman mask, peeling it backwards to reveal Razor's true face.

He was a hedgehog, one with dull violet eyes and a simple, pained expression. Even just from unmasking him they could see his form was covered in vicious scars, and that his fur was a bloody crimson color that seemed resplendent in the bright sun.

His eyes flashed hatefully at them, as Razor bit down hard on the soft flesh of his lower lip, stretching them forcefully into a pained, terrible grin. "You think you've won? This battle is just beginning, for real!"

Blaze thrust a flame encased fist into the fiend's face, the warm glow burning red on his face. "You're done. Don't make us hurt you any more than we have to?"

"Please surrender. You don't have to work for those terrorists any more," Silver pleaded more gently, although he still held swirling orbs of wind within his palms.

"You still don't get it. Us agents, we don't work for Hisaki. We _ARE _Hisaki!" he bellowed, anger and violence coursing through his veins in the place of blood. With a horrible cracking noise like the shattering of a thousand panes of glass, a pair of scaly, serpentine wings of horrible size and hideous appearance erupted from his back, pushing their way out and shredding his obsidian cloak.

Suddenly appearing were unnaturally long claws that sprouted from his fingertips, their points dripping blood as they protruded. The entire surface of his body began to creep and undulate, as patches of fur disappeared and were replaced by draconian scales, until he was covered from head to toe.

Throughout the transformation, he writhed and shrieked with an animalistic rage, while his eyes burned with a living amethyst fire, and long wicked fangs grinned in a bloody smile. Finally, an incredibly long, snake-like tail with a viciously pointed tip crept out from his backside, flicking about and stabbing randomly.

With a single powerful beat of his enormous wings, Razor lifted off the ground, his useless, incinerated stump of a leg hanging limply below him. Vengefully smacking Blaze in the face with the blunt side of his tail, he dove for his weapons like a bolt of scarlet lightning.

Reacting quickly, the milky white hedgehog summoned a powerful funnel of wind, blowing back the airborne abomination with tremendous force. Razor may have regained the ability to fight by activating the mysterious transformation, but he had also made it all the easier for Silver to use his wind offensively against him.

Blaze also took the offensive, determined to keep him on the run and bring him out of the sky. She charged up steaming orbs of volcanic light in her fists, releasing miniscule bursts of heat that flew by the dozen to paint the sky the color of fire as they roared towards the winged demon.

Roaring with a savage fury, Razor twisted and ducked through the air, contorting himself to seemingly impossible positions of acrobatic mastery to avoid the feline warrior's attacks, before making another pass at his weapons.

He managed to get close enough to snatch his whip, but Silver finished charging up an attack, releasing it precisely when Razor passed by him.

"Tornado Burst!" swirling pillars of dark grey air jutted out of the ivory hero's outstretched palms, resembling miniature versions of their namesakes. The tiny typhoons surged outward, tearing up blades of grass and even pulling on Blaze's whiskers.

They slammed into Razor's chest, drilling into him and grinding away at his flesh. He cried out in pain as they slammed him into the ground, pressing him down and continuing to twist into him with unbearable pain.

Clutching his whip with inhuman claws, Razor lashed out with it, the spiked length curling around his attacker's body, slicing into his stomach as the serrated edges dug into his flesh. Now it was Silver's turn to scream in pain as the whip wrapped itself around him multiple times, securing his arms to the side of his body and ending his attack.

Flexing with all his might, he pulled the rope backwards, tearing Silver off his feet and into the air. In the past, the sensation of weightlessness had the effect of an adrenaline rush on him. But not this time. He was helpless now, all his powers relied on his ability to move his arms.

In an attempt to protect Silver, the purple feline released a brilliantly flaming orb that screamed as it flew through the air, tiny protrusions of fire licking off it. Razor saw the attack and snickered gleefully, swinging Silver through the air in front of him and using his body as a shield to block the attack.

The fiery orb tore at Silver's face, charring it unrecognizably as he screamed in pain. Blaze had a look of complete shock on her face as she stared in horror at the wound she had inadvertently given her friend.

Despite the fact that it had been Silver who pleaded for the Hisaki Agent's life, he was not content with the misery he'd already inflicted on him. He spun Silver around him with the whip, until the hero appeared to be nothing but a white blur orbiting around him.

Finally tearing the whip upwards, he used the tremendous torque of his spinning motion to slam Silver into the ground, cracking the Earth the struck and several of his bones along with it.

'**You must keep fighting!' **the voice of the Wyvern boomed in his addled mind, where he could barely think, much less form battle strategy.

_'But I can't, his whip is wrapped around my arms!' _

Razor began to spin Silver once again, and the world whirled by him as a dizzying rush of colors and garbled sounds.

'**Think, my child! The wind within comes not from the limbs, but from the lungs!' **

Time slowed to a crawl. He could feel a rhythmic expansion and contraction inside him, his lungs inflating with each breath. The power of the Wyvern surrounded him, caressed him. Trails of emerald energy crept into his body though his nostrils, imbuing him with power.

With each breath he felt himself becoming one with the Wyvern, he felt the strength of a hurricane building inside him.

* * *

_Silver's eyes began to glow with an unearthly light as he found himself once more standing before the great silvery mirror, where the winged beast of the air stared majestically back at him with timeless eyes. _

'_**You now know the secret. Every power has a source within the wielder. You need nothing else to harness my energy. You inhale it with every moment- it permeates you.' **_

_Even as the mythical beast spoke, the words seemed to come in the form of a gentle, hot gust of breathy wind. _

"_This is fantastic! But what are the sources of the other beasts' powers?" _

'_**That is for their Incarnations to discover for themselves. But until they do, they can never bond fully with their beast.'**_

_The great golden mirror cracked, as the raw power of the Wyvern began to seep through it. It surrounded him, entered him, filled him. He breathed it in and it flowed through his veins. _

_

* * *

_In a second, Silver tapped into the Third Stage, transforming his appearance dramatically. Waves of green energy surrounded his body, forming into the shape of his beast. Long, elegant wings that fluctuated like wind appeared behind his shoulders, as the energy that surrounded his head morphed into a feathered head that sported a viciously sharp beak. Lastly, a long, snake-like tail swayed and whipped about behind him furiously.

Silver inhaled deeply, sucking more and more air into himself, until Blaze's fires were extinguished and both she and Razor were gasping for breath. Finally he stopped, pausing for a moment to charge his energy.

Torrential winds exploded outward in every direction, loosing Silver from the whip and knocking back the other two. Blades of grass and pebbles were carried about as the wind swirled over the battlefield, becoming increasingly violent with each passing second.

At his bidding, ominous black clouds that boiled and frothed in the sky began to gather overhead, casting dancing shadows over them. They joined, writhing in the heavens and covering the field in a sopping downpour of biblical proportions.

"Gale of Fate!"

It was his ultimate technique. While Blaze was protected by a gentle sphere of air, Razor on the other hand was battered by the hurricane, unable to walk and yet, unable to fly either. Winds threw him against the ground, slamming him into every conceivable obstacle as he flew head over heels through the storm.

Hurricane force winds lifted rocks and twigs, hurling them with force comparable to bullets. Even the individual drops of water became daggers, cutting through even Razor's powerful, scaly armor.

At last, he was blasted backwards like a living cannonball, soaring through the air. His broken wings could not help him, and he quickly landed, sliding forcefully through the dirt and finally coming to a rest by the precipice that was the very edge of Angel Island.

Silver and Blaze approached, the ivory hero still cloaked in the protective aura of the Wyvern, but his hurricane attack dispelled. They stood victoriously above him, sure of their opponent's defeat.

"Give up, you're through. Or do you want me to put you over that cliff?" Blaze said commandingly, while growling at him, daring him to try something.

Razor was silent for a moment, as he licked the blood from his lips. He chuckled slightly through wincing teeth, as he forced himself into a sitting position, though groaning multiple times.

"Do you know how we got to this island in the sky in the first place?"

The two were dumbfounded at this question, and stared blankly at the deviously grinning hedgehog. Razor released a screaming, high-pitched whistle that stung their ears and carried with impossible volume, a cocky smirk plastered on his face.

A terrifying roar split the heavens, echoing menacingly in their ears as the serpentine form of a dragon rose above the edge of the island.

"Guys, meet my pet dragon, Niveus."

Announcements: For those of you who have been living under a rock, this is my way of knowing you know everything you need to know. Really I shouldn't have to post announcements, but sometimes I wonder if anybody even looks at my forums, and so I do what I have to.

First of all, forum participation is down. Now, I don't take it personally that after almost 2000 posts, we've pretty much exhausted talking about In the End. I get that. But the trouble is, I use the forum for announcements, because I like to keep my stories professional, and it's too much of a pain to update my profile every three days.

So I'd like to ask you all to at least go to the forum and subscribe to alerts (or check periodically) on my announcement page so that in the future I don't have to do this again.

I have a new story, Ebony and Ivory. Most of you In the End/Crimson Twilight fans have been really good about reading it. Some of you haven't been. It's life, I know. But I'm trying really hard to do well and experiment in a new genre with that story, so I'd really appreciate it if everybody would be supportive in that.

Once again, you'd only NOT know this if you've been under a rock for the last several months, but my annual Fanfiction of the Year Contest is getting rolling, with changed rules and everything. We've already got tons of submissions, and I'm accepting more all the way into December. Even if you DON'T plan on entering, do me a personal favor and head over to my forums, where you can find the polls for the contest. When voting day arrives, just place some votes for your favorite entries. Now, that's not too much work, and that's not too much to ask. I need participation from the writers AND the readers here on FFN in order to make this contest a success. I work hard to bring you guys quality work, so I don't think it's too much to ask that you involve yourselves at least a little in the community I'm working to try to set up.

Finally, another thing I've been talking about in a one-sided conversation for forever now: the Audio Drama. Listen folks, I know that not everybody has a microphone, and not everybody can do a perfect impersonation of Sonic. But somebody can, and I need their help to make this project a success. Even if you can't participate in the project, you can't tell me you wouldn't like to listen to the finished project! So you can STILL help me, by advertising the project on your profiles, telling your friends, spreading the word. Maybe, just maybe, one of you will tell somebody beyond my sphere of influence, and they'll be interested enough to give me a call.

Alright, I'm done ranting now, and I'm not going to do this extended announcements thing again. I might put something at the end of my chapters from time to time, but I know that you guys don't want to read blocks of unrelated text any more than I want to give you anything other than the very best of literature. But we can prevent this from needing to happen again with just a little bit of involvement BEYOND the "review every new chapter."

As always my dear readers, I am yours.

~Myz


	12. Fire and Ice

**Chapter 12- Fire and Ice**

A frigid wave seemed to wash over the battlefield, as tiny flakes of glimmering crystalline whiteness fell gently to the ground with each wing beat of the colossal dragon. Its very body seemed to exist dually as both scaly reptilian flesh, and shards of ice. Every tooth and spike on its body resembled an icicle, and it had a pair of flaming blue gas burners for eyes.

It wasn't a great jump in conclusions to presume that the serpent's breath had something to do with an affinity for creating chills and frost.

Gently the great beast landed on the precipice, shielding Razor from the heroes with its massive bulk. It scooped up his battered form with its tail, placing him tenderly atop a comically large saddle that was strapped to the dragon's back.

Blaze and Silver were in a mix of shock and fixed determination. Real dragons weren't exactly an everyday appearance, and although Silver had participated in the battle against Nova, in his defense it should be noted that one never really grows accustomed to the sight.

By now the rugged tropical field that had been covered in a thick layer of shimmering ivory, and large crystals of ice built upon each other to form jutting stalagmites of frozen water. The amethyst feline ignited her fists with a burning crimson flame, but she noted that the aura of cold that the dragon was surrounded by was severely hampering her powers.

"Good girl, Niveus," Razor cooed affectionately, as the serpent snarled at the heroes, baring massive teeth. "I guess now you know why they call me the Dragon Tamer, for real!"

"Ha! At least now this might actually be a challenge!" Blaze erupted with all the power and volatility of an actual volcano, sparks and tongues of fire seeming to leap from her body. Confidently charging towards Niveus without any other warning, she became surrounded by an inferno of flames.

Silver was unnerved by the sinister and self-confident smirk on Razor's face, as he tugged on the reins, making the dragon take to the skies, a light snowfall trailing beneath her.

"Silver, launch me at the dragon," Blaze commanded, as she intensified the flames surrounding her. Her ivory companion seemed reluctant to go with any plan involving using her as a projectile, but as the dragon began circling and raining down razor sharp shards of ice, he assented.

Breathing in sharply, he concentrated the bright emerald aura surrounding him, generating a powerful and concentrated sphere of wind around Blaze. She charged herself like the payload of a missile, glowing a bright and bloody red with the intensity of the heat searing within her body.

Just as Niveus launched a massive icicle directly at them, Silver hurled her a grunt, releasing a torrential build up of air that transformed the cat into a living, flaming, screaming bullet. Blasting through the ice shard as easily as if it were a delicate pane of glass, Blaze tore through the air like a scarlet lightning bolt, leaving a trail of fire and ashes in her wake.

Drawing back her fist, she concentrated all her power and momentum into that single point, slamming it into the side of the dragon with force and brutality that seemed to rival a dozen cannonballs. Releasing an ear-piercing shriek that shook the very Earth itself, Niveus retaliated by snaking forward its grotesque head and snapping at Blaze, its dagger-like teeth flashing.

Gravity saved the cat from the maw of the beast, but simultaneously began pulling her towards her doom on the ground far below. As the feline began to fall, Silver shot up, his emerald aura fluctuating slightly as the Wyvern's tremendous wings flapped. He caught Blaze in mid-air, the power of his beast holding them both aloft as the heroes faced off with the icy wyrm.

"I've got to hand it to you both, you've got guts, for real," Razor chuckled from atop his dragon. "Most enemies I've faced went pissed themselves and ran at the first sight of one of my babies."

"I've faced a dragon before with my friends, and we killed that one," Silver echoed, his voice resounding strong and resonant like thunder. "Just like we'll defeat you!"

"What, you mean Nova?" Razor began to chuckle. "The way I heard it, Shadow was the one who took him out. The rest of you hardly did anything."

Silver's eyes widened at the mention of the obsidian betrayer; this was his first encounter with th organization, so he did not know how involved they'd been, or how Razor could possibly know about the battle with Nova... or Shadow.

"What are you driving at?" Blaze was quickly becoming impatient with Razor, and let this flaming rage manifest itself in physical form within her palms.

"Hm? Just that the guy isn't with you anymore. How are you going to get anything done without him?"

Silver had to admit, he'd feel much more confident facing this dragon if Shadow were here to help. But Shadow wasn't there. There was only him, and Blaze, and the task before him. Although the task might seem difficult, he knew that together they could stand against this foe.

Gathering his courage, he inhaled deeply, drawing swirling tendrils of emerald light into himself as he absorbed more of the Wyvern's power. Blistering winds began to howl, turning the gentle snowfall into a ferocious blizzard. Razor seemed unfazed by this, yanking on the reins to once again command his dragon to ascend.

Roaring in competition with the storm, the dragon began to pick up speed, raining down snowflakes and ice chips with each beat of its wings. Refusing to simply wait for Razor to take the offensive, Blaze clenched her fists, gathering energy for her next attack.

The icy matter surrounding her rapidly thawed in a premature Spring, as the purple cat pressed her palms together, and formed a spark there that grew into an orb of flames that threw off tongues of fire like a miniature sun.

"Silver, try to disrupt the dragon's flight path so I can get a clean shot at it," she yelled over the storm as her orb continued to grow.

Nodding in response to her order, he stretched out his hands, his fingers curving inward as his eyes glowed with a bright grassy light. The Wyvern's hawkish scream erupted from his throat, as the wings made of sheer energy riled the storm with each powerful beat.

Razor gripped the reins as tightly as he could to keep from being blown off in the fierce gales. At first, the dragon's speed and power enabled her to press through the windy barrage, but the beast soon grew exhausted from flying into the wind. It faltered, spinning out of control and tossed about by the storm. There seemed to be a delay before it fell, like gravity was asleep and suddenly realized that it needed to act, sending the dragon and its rider tumbling towards the ground.

With a grin of anticipation, Blaze unleashed the flames that she had been gathering, sending out a writhing pillar of undulating heat that lit the darkening battlefield in a fierce glow, bathing it in crimson twilight. Still spinning helplessly out of control, the dragon was swept up in the fire, and screamed as its left wing was struck, smoke intermixing with snowflakes as it fell faster and faster. The popping sound of ice rapidly thawing filled the air, as a ragged tear was burned into the beast.

Like a tremendous, icy comet it struck the Earth, throwing up clouds of snow into the roaring, bestial storm. Crystalline, icy blue limbs twitched in pain, coiling and uncoiling like flailing frozen serpents. Its head exploded suddenly forward from the mound of snow, jaws parted wide in a booming roar. It shook the snow free from its glimmering body, with wings still beating in an erratic, futile effort.

"Oh my poor baby, what have they done to you?" Razor cried mournfully, his dull amethyst gaze locking hatefully upon them. "It doesn't matter, you heal quick. Besides, we'll do better on the ground where wind-boy can't do so much."

Snapping the reins against the heaving flanks of the gargantuan, winged serpent, Razor sneered as Niveus began to attack. She surged forward, jaws gaping to reveal rows of needle sharp teeth, and releasing a blast of frigid breath that came towards them as a frozen rain of hailstones.

Flapping once to place themselves in front of him, the emerald energy wings of the Wyvern formed a shield in front of Silver, easily absorbing the ice. With a feral yell Blaze bounded forward, igniting twin flames within her palms. Razor yanked on the reins, seeming like some sort of eerie puppeteer.

In response to his command, the dragon lifted her tail, swinging it through the air like an icy battering ram. It connected with her stomach, earning a sound like the crap of thunder as she sailed backwards, blood spurting from her lips.

She rolled through the snow, twitching like an ant with its head cut off, as she sank down beneath a blanket of freezing light.

Silver was held transfixed in a state of disbelief. His golden eyes fell upon his feline companion and lingered there, as the howling storm raged about him, and within him. It was a part of him now, his breath mingled with the winds, the winds entered into him and filled him with their life, their energy.

Each finger in succession slowly tightened, as the wing beat of the Wyvern surrounding him gradually accelerated, eventually becoming a wild and rapid beat. Razor's eyes widened slightly as he gripped the reins more tightly in anticipation of what was to come. A bead of sweat ran in a twisting rivulet down the side of his head, freezing solid halfway down his cheek.

Suddenly, Silver lifted gently off the ground, the tips of his feet hanging limply in the air as if he were held aloft on some invisible string. The dragon roared in defiance, launching a freezing blast of light at him as he ascended. Silver's eyes flashed green as he stretched out one hand and effortlessly lifted a massive sheet of ice into the air, absorbing the attack with a deafening crack and an explosion of a thousand frozen glass shards.

The whipping winds around him darkened, condensing and forming into a swirling vortex, with the ivory hedgehog floating god-like within the eye of the storm. Tiny, needle-like shards of ice were flung about as the hurricane force winds further chilled the frozen battlefield. The dragon began to advance through the storm, its now healed wing outstretched triumphantly.

With a single powerful beat, it rose from the ground, flying with the wind to pick up speed until it was yet another blur, another indistinguishable blob of color amidst the whirling pool. Every second or so Silver would breathe in sharply, erratically, desperately trying to absorb enough power to sustain his vicious hurricane, although his body was beginning to give out from being in the Third Stage for so long.

'_**You cannot win this fight alone. Consolidate your losses; flee and return when you have help!' **_the gale called out to him.

Even in the midst of his rage, Silver seemed offended by the idea that he was not powerful enough to defeat Razor. After all, hadn't _he _been the first one to tap into the Third Stage? Hadn't _he _been the first one to discover the secret of his beast's true source? He hadn't had as much experience as the other heroes, and so they always seemed to look down on him, treat him as if he were second-rate.

For the most part, he accepted it. He knew that it was unwise to take offense to another's diagnosis of your abilities, and that part of it was true.

But now was his chance to prove his worth. Now was his chance to single-handedly defeat a dragon, capture a prisoner, and be the one to save the day. Now was his chance to be the hero.

Growling in exertion, Silver unleashed an outward explosion of air, thrusting his fists outward to surround Niveus in a glowing green light, as he tried to grab hold with his telekinesis. The dragon's bulk resisted the hold, flailing about in midair as Razor tried desperately to control it.

Desperately looking for a way to gain the advantage, he pulled down, swooping underneath Silver to make his approach at a lower angle. The serpent's jaws snapped open, a light cerulean orb of icy illumination forming there. It expanded, becoming tremendous within moments, as Niveus launched it at the floating hedgehog.

Silver seemed unaware of his own peril as the frozen projectile approached him like a looming sunset, enveloping him as the winds began to die. It took a moment for the residual breeze to calm, as flakes of ice and snow were tossed about the battlefield.

When the scene was less obscured, Razor surveyed his handiwork. At one end of the field, Blaze lay face down in the snow unconscious. In front of him, Silver was encapsulated in a jagged block of solid ice, his expression frozen in shock and sorrow.

"Good girl," He pet Niveus to reward her for the victory, as he dismounted, turning around and around as he searched the snow for any sign of his weapons. There near the edge of the cliff where the snow was thinnest was the faint glimmer of the steel of his Hisaki sword, and by it lay his whip.

"I remember I grabbed ahold of that one earlier with my whip," he said, apparently to his dragon companion as he picked the weapon up. "Didn't he say something about making sure to do that?"

He nodded to himself, not quite comprehending the meaning behind his words, but knowing that it had been his objective nonetheless. In the distance he spied Leukos's lonely form approaching from his battle with Knuckles.

Crossing the snowy field one final time, he hefted the purple feline's unconscious form over one shoulder, climbing aboard his dragon and taking to the air briefly. He landed near his partner with a broad smile.

"You've been unmasked..." Leukos said in an unsurprised, yet irritated tone.

"It's not like it matters," he countered, as Leukos climbed aboard.

"We were given strict orders to-" He paused, glancing at Blaze. "What are you doing taking a prisoner? There weren't anything in our orders about that."

"She's really strong, with hidden potential. I say we take her to the Leader, and see if she can join Hisaki."

Leukos mused for a moment, drawing back his hood as he finally came to a decision. There underneath was the same mask worn by the other agents, but it indisputably hid an echidna's face.

"Hm... for once, you had an idea that wasn't half bad. Besides, she might serve as a little extra 'motivation' for our hapless heroes."

With a grim chuckle Razor had the dragon take off, flying into the sunset like an icy vulture.


	13. Sands of Time

**Chapter 13- Sands of Time**

Like a swarming hive of infuriated hornets, the GUN base bristled with activity. A current of tension ran through the air, with each and every soldier's mind bent upon a single thought – the terrorist attacks sweeping the globe – as if the soldiers were of a single consciousness.

Algos stood silently on a naked hill overlooking the base, his brilliant cerulean eyes surveying it with cold impassivity. A frozen breath of desert wind was rushing around him, whispering through the sloping dunes and lifting granules of sand into the air. At night, the sandpit became unbearably cold- and yet somehow it never gained moisture.

Undulating waves of the colored dust rolled off of his body in rhythm and into the ground beneath him. Algos was a waxen candle, dripping sloppily to the ground until he had joined himself completely with the desert.

Slithering ever so slowly along the ground like serpentine tendril, he pushed past the gate and towers without being spotted. As he passed he couldn't help but see the soldiers' nervous and alert glances with each and every sound that echoed in the night. But he moved stealthily and with caution, not even casting a shadow or making a sound as he crept along.

Grinning inwardly, he stole up to an air vent that saw he could use to infiltrate the facility without anyone seeing a conspicuous pile of sand moving about in the hallways. Sifting through the cracks, he collected in a heap on the other side, and continued to creep through the dank corridors.

Within the darkness inside him, chilling, disembodied voices continued to call out to him, filling his head with all the clamor and confusion of a battle, a fight inside, a war within.

'_You're powerful enough to slaughter all of these puny GUN soldiers, without even being spotted! Now's your chance to take your revenge!' _a sinister voice resounded, it's tone as rough and harsh as a dull blade.

'_No, that's not why we came here. We came to find the truth,' _another replied forcefully.

"Shh!" he commanded out loud, as if he believed the passing soldiers could hear the voices that existed only within his disturbed mind.

'_The truth is nothing but disappointment,' _the voice growled. _'You'll find only pain.'_

'_Better pain than nothing at all.'_

He came to a vent, and peering through it, spied a massive computer console.

"I think this is sit; the main archives," he said to the fragmented pieces of himself.

He poured himself out through the opening, dropping to the ground. A single tendril of sand darted out and up, feeding itself between the cracks in the chassis of the security camera, before disassembling it from the inside.

Gradually, he assumed his fleshly form, his dead eyes twitching with anticipation. Slowly approaching the computer, he breathed in sharply to prepare himself.

In bold green letters on an inky black background, the screen read: 'ENTER SEARCH QUERY.'

Typing slowly, deliberately, he put in: 'PROJECT ALGOS.'

Pressing the enter button, he held his breath as mammoth electronic gears churned, and the screen flashed with an endless stream of zeroes and ones.

Document after document flashed upon the screen – photographs of him as a child, typed reports, schematics of machinery – none of which seemed remotely familiar, nor sparked any sudden revelations. A haze floated over his memory, standing between him and the truth.

At the moment when the thought the search was over, and still could remember nothing more, a moment before the sweeping disappointment… a final result appeared on the screen.

A video entitled: 'Project Algos' Birth.'

With wide eyes and insatiable curiosity, he clicked on it, bringing up rather unprofessional, grainy footage of a regular hospital shot on a home-video camera. He could see a beautiful, cream-colored hedgehog straining with the pangs of childbirth, expectant doctors standing in a circle around her.

"Breathe, dear – you're almost done," the camera operator said, as she squeezed his hand.

"The baby is crowning. One more push," the head doctor said, as he got closer, preparing to receive the child.

With a pitiful cry, a soaking brown bundle of fur was ejected from the mother's body, and the doctor promptly snatched it, blood and amniotic fluids dripping from his hands.

"You did it! It's over," the doctor said soothingly, as she continued to grip the as yet faceless cameraman's hand. The doctor cut the umbilical cord, gently toweled the child off, wrapped it in a blanket, and returned it to its mother.

"It's a boy! A beautiful boy," she smiled with satisfaction.

"What will we call him, Sarah?" the father said as the camera zoomed in on the infant.

"Algos."

The sand wielder stumbled backwards with a series of wild grunts, clutching his forehead tightly. He pushed himself frantically away from the screen until his back pressed against the cold metal of the doorway, as he felt the haze begin to lift violently, all at once.

Memories began to flash before his eyes, and although he experienced each as if he were reliving it, it took only a second for all of them to cycle through his mind, leaving him gasping on the floor.

_Flashback_

_It was a perfect, bright summer day, and both of his parents were sitting in lawn – chairs sipping iced lemonade as Algos played with mindless innocence in the sandbox he'd got for his birthday. _

_His parents had been bewildered when, even as a baby, he'd seemed unimpressed and unengaged with any toy they offered him. However, when they'd taken him to the beech, they noticed how happily he played with the sand on the shore, how utterly taken he was by it. _

_Thinking nothing of it beyond childish preference, they'd bought him a box of his own, and he'd exhibited no desire to entertain himself in any other way. Much like any young boy, Algos had much more grandiose ideas about the scale of what his sand castle should look like than it reasonably could. Frustrated with the contrast between his idealized vision and the actualized reality, he began working hurriedly to try to build the dry sand up faster than it collapsed. _

_He couldn't keep it in one place; it ran through his fingers like an eternal stream, despite his best, futile attempts. His parents glanced over in concern as he became frantic, as his frustration mounted. Moisture began to gather at the edges of his vision as he willed the sand to stay in place, mentally commanded it to obey him. _

_To his surprise, it did. _

_Gleefully he began constructing the dream castle, chiseling out battlements and towers with his mind and depending on his hands less and less as the sand even lifted itself into place at his command. Soon he had realized his vision, and within the box there loomed an impossibly detailed and massive castle. _

_His parents were open mouthed in shock, and seemed to be dumbfounded, searching for a response. The father was first to react, clearing his throat loudly._

"_Um, son – that's a magnificent sandcastle you've got there," he said, while glancing down at his offspring with a mixture of fear and curiosity._

"I made it myself!" the young Algos replied with a smile, his child's innocence keeping him from comprehending his father's distrustful looks.

"_Hey, why don't you show me how you did it?" he asked with faked encouragement, and veiled intentions._

"_It's easy, I just tell the sand what I want it to do, and it does it," he explained simply, as he twitched his fingers, causing the sand to swirl gently into a small cyclone in the box._

"_Honey-" Sarah interjected, her own eyes slightly fearful, but certainly gentler than her husbands._

_Trapped in a freezing, metal box, he shivered and pressed his hands numbly against the edges, to remind himself that he was still alive. There was no light except that issuing from a tiny crack in the door, but he was too terrified to even think of trying to peek through it. _

_A terrible screeching sound rang through his prison, as the steel gate was pried open, flooding the confined space with light. A looming figure in a faceless, inhuman suit reached inside with cruel metal tongs and yanked him roughly out and into a circle of unbearably bright illumination. _

_Algos blinked and saw that he was surrounded by the shadowy silhouettes of a dozen scientists. They grabbed onto his arms and legs, pulling him down onto an unfeeling metal table and fastened clasps over his ankles and wrists to hold him in place. His arms were stretched out perpendicular to his body in a cross shape, reminiscent of crucifixion._

_The young boy was frightened and confused, and his bright blue eyes snapped frantically about, searching for a source of comfort and familiarity. _

_A pair of needles were pushed into his wrist, as one of the scientists began attaching suction cups for a heart-rate monitor and brain-wave monitor along his shivering body. _

_Soon Algos was at the center of a bristling mass of ghastly plugs and tubes, of beeping machines that held no more sympathy or pity than the cruel scientists who used them. Lastly, a pair of electrodes were snapped onto his forehead, directly at his temples._

"_Where am I?" he called out helplessly. _

"_It's going to be all right, you're in the GUN research department," the voice of his mother returned, but he could not see her; no matter how desperately he searched._

"_Test Subject IA-86-42: vital signs normal, brain activities normal, radiation… normal," one of the scientists narrated to a camera. "Currently scanning genetic material for signs of mutation."_

_He gasped as one of the many tubes sprouting from him withdrew some blood, carrying it away and into the console. _

"_Commencing with Control Test."_

_The scientists brought in a glass box, and bolted it into the floor. They placed a baseball inside, and sealed the lid. _

"_Box is composed of shatter proof plastic. Test subject is unable to touch object. Now, Project Algos test subject – using only your mind, manipulate the object."_

"_But I can't!" as soon as he answered, a spark leapt from the electrodes to his temples, shocking him._

"Do it!"

"_I can only tell sand what to do!" he whimpered. _

_Yet another tormenting pulse of light, accompanied by the smell of singed flesh, and the boy fell backwards panting, his eyes cracked with veins. _

"_We really have never seen his powers affect anything but sand," his mother offered in protest._

_There was an ensuing pregnant silence in the air, as the scientists considered this. _

"_Replace the object with a sample of sand."_

_An immaculately clad tech nodded and opened the glass box, scooping out the baseball like a fish in a tank. Another heaved over a hefty brown sack and began pouring the contents into the glass container. The particles of rough earth collected at the bottom of the box, seeming to call out to him, to implore him to free them just as he wished to be freed. _

"_Now, manipulate the sand," the researcher commanded harshly, punctuating his sentence with an electric shock for good measure. _

_Gritting his teeth as hot, salty tears began to gather at the blurred edges of his vision, he willed the sand to move. As before, it obeyed, weakly shifting in the box a few times before Algos collapsed, exhausted. _

_Immediately the researchers began bustling about, grabbing pads of paper and conferring in hushed, excited tones, all but forgetting the poor, mistreated young hedgehog. _

_Except for his mother, who noticed that the other scientists were off in their own little universe. She promptly unstrapped him and pulled him sobbing into a consolatory embrace. _

_Years of monotony intermixed with torture passed with no change whatsoever in routine or surroundings. Algos was kept in the metallic bowels of the GUN facility, where the researches subjected him to all manner of horrific and obtrusive tests and training in the name of their god, Science. Science demanded a sacrifice, and so he was to be the sacrifice. The researchers were devout, pious, and committed. _

_The only thing that kept him sane was the faithful love of his mother, Sarah, who was not devoted solely to Science. He had often wondered in his misery why she had not taken him and left, but he had always entertained suspicions that the odd bruises she sported every now and then originated with his father, who was Science's chief priest. _

_For awhile, he was alone, until one day he was abruptly transferred to a different cell, where he found that another GUN guinea pig was being kept with him, in the name of Science as well. Before him stood a well-built, dark crimson hedgehog with eyes that were as black as night – a pair of Black Holes, ravenously consuming all they looked upon, without ever being filled themselves._

"_Hello, you're a GUN rat too, hm?" the boy chuckled with an odd mixture of amusement and cynicism. "My name is Ares, what's yours?"_

_Algos hesitated, unnerved by the youth's midnight colored gaze. "Algos – I can control sand."_

_It seemed ironic to him that Science had stripped him of his identity like this; his power had become him, and he had become his power, just as the sand became him, and he the sand, in a never-ending circle of contradictions. _

"_That's cool. I've been bred to be a super-soldier. I have an instinctual knack for fighting and weapons," Ares offered with friendliness._

"_Weapons?" Algos didn't see any weapons on him, and assumed GUN kept them safely hidden when not in use. (Although he was curious to know how Ares' tests were conducted.)_

"_You know, like swords and stuff. But I don't like to use guns…" he trailed off thoughtfully as if recalling a painful memory. "But… I don't need to."_

_Algos smiled, having become slightly more comfortable with his new companion. Over time, he and Ares became good friends when GUN allowed them to be together. Later, Algos remembered how alone he felt when Ares was abruptly transferred to another GUN base for intensive combat training, losing yet another piece of himself to Science. After that, he hadn't seen his friend since. _

_

* * *

__Algos stood chained in a massive chamber, positioned under an overhanging spout. Scientists watched on from behind a shatterproof window, the image of their experiment reflecting off the cold dead glass of their screen and their eyes. _

_An alarm sounded loudly in the chamber as sand began to pour of the spout in a waterfall of tiny brown granules. _

_Over a loudspeaker the voice of a pitiless researcher rang grimly. "You have the power to save yourself. Shift the sand off of yourself or you will suffocate."_

_Surely enough, the sand soon began to pile over Algos, even as he desperately attempted to push it off with his power. The fountain dropped in new gouts more swiftly than he was able to move it, and soon he was partially submerged. _

"_Please!" he coughed desperately, "I'm not strong enough!"_

_Ignoring his pleas, they continued to bring the sandy rain, until he was at last swallowed entirely by the maw of the Earth. _

"_Activate the emergency flood valve," the lead scientist, his father, barked, his eyes devoid of compassion or love._

_Grates opened in the floor, as the sprinklers in the ceiling activated, washing the sand swirling down the drain. Algos was exposed, soaking and gasping greedily for breath, and the last of the sand was slowly carried away. _

"_Let's repeat the test until the test subject tests positive."_

"_No," the infuriated voice of Sarah rang out with determined finality. "Test subject? That's our son! Is he nothing more to you than an experiment?" _

"_Dear… calm yourself," he replied with a forced smile, "I'm doing only what I deem to be best."_

"_Is that so? For years I've stood by in silence as you've sadistically tormented our son – treated him like a beast, because of fear. Well I won't stand for it any more! I don't care if you beat me any more, it's over!" _

"_Come now-"_

"_No! I'm taking Algos, and I'm leaving. We're though," she finished, as she turned towards the door. He grabbed her roughly by the shoulder, and pulled her back in, slamming her back against the wall with a thud. _

"_I can't allow you to leave with sensitive national secrets like the Test Subject. I'm sorry dear… you just know too much."_

_With mock sadness creasing his brow, he produced a pistol. Pointing it to Sarah's forehead, he coldly pulled the trigger as her eyes closed, tears dripping down her cheeks._

_Rumbling through the halls and echoing on for what seemed like an eternity, a bang issued forth from the smoking barrel of the pistol. Her blood and brains sprayed onto the window, and her form slumped lifeless against the wall like a bloodied rag doll._

_Algos was numb. He didn't hear when the sirens blared to announce when sand began to sift back into the chamber. He didn't feel the weight of the particles as they stuck to him. He closed his eyes to escape, telling himself it was all a dream, but within the darkness he saw the tear-filled eyes of his mother go cold and lifeless as her lifeblood stained the ground a rich scarlet. The stain spread to him, and no scrubbing would ever clean it away, it would remain forever._

_His breathing accelerated. The fabric of sanity tore somewhere in his mind, a crack formed and branched out, spreading and spreading along razor sharp spider-web trails until nothing remained but dust… sand, sifting about aimless and formless, signifying nothing. _

_Submerged in darkness, he felt the weight collapse on him, crushing his lungs and the ribs surrounding them. But then, he heard a voice bubble up from somewhere within him. It was fierce and reptilian, and rumbled with a certain powerful, Earthy quality… like a tremor. _

'_**Kill them. Kill them all,' **__his voice and the voice of the beast within became one, and he found that suddenly, the sand no longer suffocated him. He felt weightless within it, one with it. It bored him up, conformed itself to his body and his will. _

_Clenching his fists with rage, he rose upwards atop a furious cyclone of sand, his shining eyes turned with a piercing gaze directly on the hale faced visage of his father. A funnel of sand as wide as a semi shot out from the side of his tornado, crashing into the glass panel with tremendous force. _

_Cracking out the concrete that anchored the pane in, the pillar tore it out like a gargantuan arm. Scampering out in fear like ants, the scientists screamed as they were caught up in a massive fist. _

_Algos carried them into his own chamber, which now housed a swirling hurricane of sand, with the sand-wielder himself standing enraged and all-powerful in the eye. The whirling particles nicked his victims, tearing of miniscule pieces of skin and flesh. _

_One was suspended in the air, before being surrounded by a cocoon of sand, which compressed to transform him into a shower of blood that dripped from the bottom. Another shrieked as he was hurled against a wall, the next was brutally suffocated; yet another was crushed like his spine had no more strength than a toothpick._

_Soon the chamber was filled with half a dozen mutilated corpses, with only the tortured sandy hedgehog and his father left breathing. The older GUN scientist had been pushed onto his back by the ferocity of the sandstorm, had witnessed the merciless slaughter of his companions, and now awaited the looming specter of his own inevitable demise. _

_His son appeared from out of the storm, casting a shadow as long as black as the deepest night. Stretching his hand out stiff and straight like an iron rod, he clenched his fist until his knuckles popped, as his eyes bored into his father with the pained, infuriated look of pure hatred. _

_Sand invaded every pore and crevice, every orifice and crack in his body. It seeped in through the edges of his eyes, it poured in through his nostrils, it crawled down his throat into the uttermost reaches of his being. It pervaded him, it filled him, and at last he burst, covering the area surrounding him in clumps of bloodied sand. _

_Having lost everything he'd ever known and loved, and now having committed the mindless killing of seven GUN researchers, Algos fled into the nearby Painite Desert, where sand was plentiful, and he would be safe. The trauma from his experiences proved too more for his mind to bear, and he slipped slowly down into the icy depths of insanity. Eventually, all of his memories became obscured by a black cloud, except for a single one of him as a child in a GUN facility. Bound by his solitude, he formed his Sand Demons, his "friends" as he called them, looking subconsciously to replace Ares._

_Suffering from an acute paranoia, he terrorized any who were foolish enough to wander into his territory. _

_Then he met Sonic and the others. After their long and intense battle, he had a lot of time to think over the lessons that they had taught him, and he managed to reclaim much of his mental stability… although none of his memories returned._

_Until one day his peace was disturbed yet again, by a figure clad in a dark cloak with undulating ivory flames. He had shimmering gold trim on his robe, and piercing jade eyes that seemed distantly familiar, even while they were utterly mysterious._

"_Algos… the others whom you befriended two years ago are locked in battle at the tower at the edge of this desert. They are in desperate need of your help. Go to them."_

_Leaving no room for questions or response, the robed figure shot off into the sky as quickly as he had appeared, leaving no trace of himself. _

_Turning towards the looming spire, Algos went to help Sonic. _The violent remembrance of all of these memories in such a brief moment in time left Algos stunned and speechless on the floor. He stared ahead blankly into the emptiness of space, as throughout the base, alarms began to blare.

* * *

He said nothing, but simply pulled out his phone and walked stoically into the house. Sarah went following hurriedly after him, leaving Algos to play with his newfound ability. 


	14. Ares

**Chapter 14 - Ares**

Amidst the roaring cacophony of alarms and frenzied screaming, Algos felt himself almost in a state of heightened awareness. Each of the numerous noises resounding down the hallways seemed distinct and isolated rather than a garbled mess of mixing, melding sensations. Algos felt anachronized; detached from time as he moved through the deserted metal passages. Every flicker of the lights was a flash of lightning splitting the sky, and every grain of sand following him was a planet orbiting its star.

At last his almost mindless wandering led him towards the source of the confusion in the GUN base, snapping him suddenly from his trance-like state. All at once, he realized the present question he was faced with. The base was under attack, and whatever form the attackers took, from the emptiness of the halls and the screaming echoing down them, he could surmise that the soldiers were not faring well. Now would be the perfect time to make his escape, while the guards were otherwise occupied. After all, he'd gotten what he came for, what did he care of their fate?

'_Better yet, strike while they are disarrayed in confusion - wreak havoc, and exact your terrible vengeance!' _a dark and ominous voice rang out inside him.

'_No, I will not be the monster my father wanted me to be; I will not punish them for his crimes.' _An inner, mocking laughter that had the force and ferocity of a volcanic eruption exploded within him.

'_Ah, to have suffered so much, and yet still so naïve. They despise you, hunt you still. Your noble, misguided sense of self-righteousness will not save you from their wrath. They will come for you, and you will have to fight to defend yourself. Sparing them only delays the inevitable.'_

'_You're right, they will hunt me... But people fear only what they do not understand. If I fight beside them, earn their trust and love, they will let me live in peace.'_

'_Fool, to aspire to their love, an abomination such as us breeds only hatred. Risk your life for them, see what your reward is!' _the terrible voice faded into oblivion, leaving Algos only with his present choice. The passage-way to the left led quickly to the outside world, where he could escape with ease. The right-hand one was filled with the clamor of battle, and led to the vault where GUN kept one of the two Chaos Emeralds stored in the base.

With a sigh he dashed down the hallway to the right, bracing himself for whatever he might find.

* * *

Beads of sweat rolled down the GUN soldiers' foreheads as they gripped their weapons with knuckles as white as death. From the sounds of screams emanating from the other side of the wall, they could tell that the attackers were close, and that they were doing horrible things to the soldiers who had tried to stop them. The stench of fear hung over them like a cloud, acrid and hot.

Deceptively, silence stole over the room from beyond the wall, prolonging their nerve-wracking wait. For a split second, the soldiers almost believed that the intruders had been stopped, and they had nothing to fear.

Their false hopes, only a moment before birthed into existence were just as quickly snuffed. A massive pounding sound resonated throughout the wall, sending trembling vibrations running through every bone in their body.

A crack appeared, and then spread outwards in a spiders' web, quickly turning the wall from a bulwark of solid steel to nothing more than a pile of dust. No sooner had the wall collapsed than the line of soldiers opened fire, a hail of screaming lead flying haphazardly in the direction of the new opening.

Steel flashed like lightning, zipping from left to right with poetic agility, each bullet striking only the blunt side of a silvery katana and compacting into powerless husks before falling to the ground in a rain of crushed bullets.

Smoke cleared from the opening, revealing a pair of robed Hisaki agents, one holding two short katanas with a third long one upon his back, and the other making no gesture or attack whatsoever.

The one with the swords turned to his partner, his voice commanding and fearful. "We'll have to split up. You take this passageway, I'll grab the emerald on the other side of the base."

"Do I have to?" the other figure replied, rolling back the deep sleeves of his robe to reveal milky white colored fur. Without responding to his question, the senior agent bounded off, disappearing down another passageway.

So far the soldiers had been so dumbfounded that their hail of bullets had been ineffectual that they had merely been watching in awe and horror, making no movement to either attack or retreat. A pair of twisted, obsidian spires slowly parted the flesh of the agent's forearms, protruding outwards.

With a flick of his wrist and a slight wince, he fired the spikes at two of the soldiers in the line, impaling the tender stomach and pinning them to the ground, blood pouring out of their gaping wound. The other soldiers panicked, firing off what remaining rounds they had in the agents general direction.

His robe swirling like the blackest night, the Hisaki agent leapt into the air, deftly swerving out of the way of bullets and firing off more of the insidious black spikes. Within moments, each of the soldiers released the same horrible scream that each one before them had, and was pinned to the wall or the ground like a massive, grotesque insect collection.

It was at this moment that Algos appeared at the other end of the hallway.

"What the hell... Who are you?" he could not help but exclaim upon seeing the brutality of the agent's power.

"If you're not with GUN, it's not a good idea to be here. Like it or not, I have a job to do. I'd really rather not have to waste more time killing you to do it," the agent threatened unenthusiastically, as we walked towards the sand colored hedgehog.

"I'm not going to let you get away with this slaughter!" Algos responded ferociously, his sand already swirling around him preemptively.

"Well, it may be a waste of time, but at least I might get to fight someone who's a challenge for once," the agent answered, obsidian spires peeking out of the sleeves of his robe.

Algos didn't give the fiend time to make the first move, bounding forward and using his sand to push off of the ground. The agent fired off his spikes towards the Dragon bearer, but Algos swirled his sand around himself in a circular motion, deflecting them to crash harmlessly with the wall.

A wave of sand particles crashed into the Hisaki agent, tearing off his robe and slamming his body into the steel floor. Algos didn't waste a second, grabbing onto the silk-colored agent by his neck and slamming his head into the ground with vicious force.

A sinister smirk appeared at the corner of the agent's lips as a row of gnarled black spines suddenly erupted from the skin of his neck, slashing into Algos' hands and freeing him from his grasp. Jumping upwards, he clenched his fists and grit his teeth, before releasing a shockwave of sound in all directions.

Algos was blasted backwards, and a buzzing sensation filled his burning ears, intensifying to an icy hot pain as his body was thrown limply against a side wall like a rag doll. His sand collected around him in a disorganized heap as the Hisaki agent gathered his breath.

"You're tougher than I expected. But shooting out spikes, that's small time. My real power is the ability to manipulate sound waves. Surprisingly powerful ability, actually. As it turns out, the waves of sound disrupt the raw energy used by most everyone's powers. It should render any sand attack you use against me useless in a giffy."

Algos staggered to his feet, wiping a trail of blood climbing from his lip off with the back of his hand. "Who are you?" he asked a second time.

"Since you're going to die anyhow, I guess it doesn't make a difference. My name is Echo, member of an organization called Hisaki. You may have heard of us, we've been appearing quite a lot in the news recently," the ivory furred hedgehog replied, his orange eyes strangely dull and lacking emotion.

"You- you're the terrorists who have been ransacking all the GUN bases! Well, besides me," Algos exclaimed, standing to his feet even though his legs could hardly bear him up.

"If you don't mind one question before we finish this, why would you protect GUN after attacking them before?" Echo responded coyly, a pair of particularly viscous spikes forming in the palms of his hands.

"People change," Algos answered with a wry smile, flicking his wrist to raise a swirling vortex of sand.

Echo cracked his knuckles, leaping into the air and releasing another sonic boom, throttling Algos against the wall a second time and dissipating his sand attack in an instant. The blacked striped fiend stalked slowly towards the hero, his spikes prepared for the cruel deed.

"Don't squirm, trust me, this will be bad enough as it is," he cackled, a spark of enthusiasm appearing in his eyes for the only thing he was truly interested in - inflicting misery.

Algos quickly saw that Echo was walking on top of a thin layer of his sand, and yanked his hands backwards, forming the sand into columns around Echo's legs. Caught by surprise and unable to move, Echo yelped as his head was slammed into the floor, and he was lifted up into the air by the tendrils of sand.

"I told you already... your sand is useless!" he bellowed, shattering the formation and finally looming directly above Algos, his hands poised to drive the deadly spires into his gut.

Algos closed his brilliant azure eyes, regretting only that he'd had so little time to live with the knowledge of his past. He prepared himself for death.

But to his surprise, death did not come. After a moment of waiting in fearful anticipation, he opened his eyes to see that Echo's hand had been grabbed by another robed figure, this one covered in weapons.

Echo seemed disappointed that his fun had been disrupted, but the clear signs of fear could be observed in his eyes when the other agent released his hands, but continued staring at him forebodingly.

Algos was surprised and suspicious when the figure offered a hand to help him up, refusing the help and jolting up, preparing himself for a fight.

The hands reached up, and pulled back to hood to reveal a familiar pair of haunting obsidian eyes. Algos gasped in recognition, hardly believing his eyes.

"Ares?"

"The one and only."

There, standing before him was his friend from so many years ago, his sole companion through the torturous experiments of his troubled youth. They'd spent years forming a bond only to be cruelly ripped apart, and now after all these years chance had brought them together again.

The old friends closed in a tenuous embrace, half expecting that Ares would finish the work that Echo had started. And yet no blow came, no weapon was drawn.

"Algos, it's good to see you after so many years. I apologize for Echo's impetuousness, he has a tendency to kill anything that moves. He refuses to learn that the true warrior, the one with honor kills only when he must, and then, not for pleasure."

"I see you haven't changed a bit. Always truisms about battle," Algos mused with a smile of remembrance. "But... you're with Hisaki? The terrorist organization that has been attacking GUN bases."

Are's smile faded, and a grave look came over his face. "Algos, tell me that you haven't gone over to their side. Please, tell me you haven't forgotten the unforgivable crimes which were committed against us both."

"No... I remember. For the longest time I shut it out, forgot everything. But after years of searching, I remember everything, every horrible detail."

"Then clearly, one must ask who is the terrorist here, and who is the freedom fighter," Ares countered.

"What GUN did to us is unforgivable, but I will not punish innocents for their crimes. That would make us no better than our tormentors."

Ares lunged towards Algos, drawing his hand behind Algos' head and pulling his ear directly next to his lips.

"Listen to me, Algos. The world is changing. GUN will not be in control for much longer. Hisaki is more powerful than in their wildest nightmares," he began, his voice no louder than a whisper. "In the end, you'll have to pick a side. Why would you choose to help those who scorn you? In Hisaki, you wouldn't be treated as a freak, you wouldn't be feared and hated. Your power would bring you respect, position, influence. You can be on my side - we can be together again, just like old times."

"I don't even know what Hisaki stands for..."

"We stand for change. Throwing off the shackles of GUN's tyranny and marching bolding into a new era of freedom and equality. A world where individuals are not valued for their sameness, but for their uniqueness, a world where you and I would've been treasured rather than tortured."

"At what cost?" Algos responded bitterly, his eyes narrowed.

"Whatever cost. Sacrifice is necessary to achieve a better world."

"You would use the same justification for slaughter that my father used for torture? You learned nothing from your suffering," Algos growled fiercely, Ares breaking away from him with a look on his face that spoke of the deepest despair.

"We should kill him," Echo pleaded, "He knows too much."

"Silence, Echo! While you were wasting your time fighting one who is not our enemy, I retrieved the Chaos Emeralds. Our mission here is accomplished. Thanks to Algos, we even have the DNA of yet another Incarnation. Your thirst for blood disturbs me," Ares said mockingly. Echo whimpered almost like a beaten dog, and scurried away.

"Ares-"

"I'll take your answer as as 'maybe' for now. I hope next time we meet you've taken some time to rethink your priorities. Until next time, Algos," Ares responded, as he placed a quill he had taken from the back of Algos' neck while whispering in his ear in a cloth handkerchief.

With that, the crimson colored hedgehog disappeared, leaving Algos standing dumbfounded in the midst of the destruction.


	15. Seperation

**Chapter 15 – Separation**

A brisk and foggy morning had crept slowly over Angel Island, leaving massive drops of icy dew clinging lazily to the pointed tips of emerald grass. The chilling and frigid air forced the heroes to huddle tightly together around a weak fire, their faces staring grimly into its sporadically flickering embers and fizzling coals.

Sonic sat on the left, his leg covered in bloodstained bandages from the sword wound given to him by his mechanical doppelgänger, and although he sat as still as he could, every few seconds he would wince slightly from the dull pain. His expression was one of stoic neutrality; he knew that reacting emotionally to Amy's disappearance and the theft of the Chaos Emeralds would do nothing to bring them back, at least not until they had a plan. He could not allow anger to control him… not again.

Tails sat silently next to his adopted older brother, glad that Sonic had discarded his former melancholy disposition, but still somewhat concerned at seeing him looking so severe. He had always felt somehow unimportant and powerless in the scheme of all of the others who had their beasts and great powers, and was ever hopeful to prove his usefulness to them all, ever aspiring to be more than an accessory and afterthought.

Rouge still held a dreary hollowness in her eyes, but some amount of spark and life was beginning to return to them; concern for her friends who had been captured by Hisaki coiled in her belly like a python, and she was anxiously awaiting some sort of decision by the group. Tikal was standing and pacing slowly while the rest of the group sat in a semi-circle opposite of her, softly and anxiously talking amongst themselves. She seemed to be caught in deep rumination over something of great perplexity, or perhaps was simply very disappointed at the string of recent misfortunes that had befallen all of them.

Even Chaos was unusually serious and austere, devoid of his usual taunting grin and flirtatious wink. He sat quietly, watching the princess with intense concentration, as if by focusing on her he could augment her deep trance of thoughtfulness. Knuckles cleared his throat indicating he wished to speak, and the others' eyes slowly turned towards him, their expressions generally abysmal and miserable, but with flecks of hope glimmering here and there.

"All the stuff that's happened is… let's be honest… really bad. But we need do something, right now. This is the second time we've been attacked by these chumps right here on Angel Island. As much as I hate to say it, we've got to find somewhere else to make our base."

"Hisaki already has several Chaos Emeralds, and they've collected a lot of the genetic material of the Incarnations already, maybe all of them. There's a high probability that they're going to try to unleash the next Titan Beast." Tails shuddered, remembering when he had seen the first of the great demons in the sky above Central City.

_Flashback_

_Only a couple dozen aircraft remained. The battle became chaos. These few surviving planes were blasted from the sky, sending them crashing through panes of glass and the roofs of abandoned homes and stores. Lightning lashed out and struck a jeep, combusting the engine and hurling the wreckage through the air. The soldiers on the ground cowered and fled, their screams cut short as they were electrocuted._

_Now that it stood unopposed, Nova released a roar, and resumed its destruction of the city. Meanwhile, the six incarnations were making their final preparations for the battle ahead._

_"Amy, I want you to stay out of this fight. Nova is too strong," Sonic said quietly._

_"Trying to get rid of me?" she snapped. "I won't leave you Sonic. I'm not useless."_

_"Nobody is accusing you, Flower. We just don't want you to get hurt," Chaos explained, much to the irritation of the azure hedgehog. A tense moment passed, before finally Amy nodded in defeat._

_"Blaze, protect Amy and Tails. Take them some place where they'll be safe," Silver instructed, earning a silent nod from his feline companion. Blaze motioned for them to follow her, and led them from the rooftop to the stairway that spiraled down the innards of the building. The last second before he disappeared, Tails flashed Sonic a toothy grin, and a thumbs up which most likely was meant to indicate that he believed in them._

_"He turned out just like you..." Knuckles smirked in disbelief._

_End Flashback_

What the others didn't know was that his confident smirk that day had hidden a much deeper fear. He believed in Sonic and the others, but just looking up into the sky and seeing such a monstrous creature made him feel suddenly small and powerless. It made matters worse that he was always relegated to a secondary role when such crises arose.

"Whatever our recourse, we must weigh our actions carefully… If what Sonic tells us is true, then these heretics have anticipated what we've done thus far. Their plans are very… enigmatic. We must be cautious," the princess stated grimly, the contemplative look still furrowing her brow.

Silver burst upwards suddenly, his fists tightly clenched in rage at his sides. His amber eyes glittered with moisture, and his voice shook as he interjected, "I'm… I'm going after them. They have her. I have to save her."

"Look, we all feel bad. Don't you think I'm dying inside about Amy? But whatever we do, we have to do it together. We have to decide what's best for everyone," Sonic replied, doing his best to soothe the fury that had not subsided since Silver's mistake had allowed Blaze to be taken.

_Flashback_

_She rolled through the snow, twitching like an ant with its head cut off, as she sank down beneath a blanket of freezing light._

_Silver was held transfixed in a state of disbelief. His golden eyes fell upon his feline companion and lingered there, as the howling storm raged about him, and within him. It was a part of him now, his breath mingled with the winds, the winds entered into him and filled him with their life, their energy._

_Each finger in succession slowly tightened, as the wing beat of the Wyvern surrounding him gradually accelerated, eventually becoming a wild and rapid beat. Razor's eyes widened slightly as he gripped the reins more tightly in anticipation of what was to come. A bead of sweat ran in a twisting rivulet down the side of his head, freezing solid halfway down his cheek._

_Suddenly, Silver lifted gently off the ground, the tips of his feet hanging limply in the air as if he were held aloft on some invisible string. The dragon roared in defiance, launching a freezing blast of light at him as he ascended. Silver's eyes flashed green as he stretched out one hand and effortlessly lifted a massive sheet of ice into the air, absorbing the attack with a deafening crack and an explosion of a thousand frozen glass shards._

_The whipping winds around him darkened, condensing and forming into a swirling vortex, with the ivory hedgehog floating god-like within the eye of the storm. Tiny, needle-like shards of ice were flung about as the hurricane force winds further chilled the frozen battlefield. The dragon began to advance through the storm, its now healed wing outstretched triumphantly._

_With a single powerful beat, it rose from the ground, flying with the wind to pick up speed until it was yet another blur, another indistinguishable blob of color amidst the whirling pool. Every second or so Silver would breathe in sharply, erratically, desperately trying to absorb enough power to sustain his vicious hurricane, although his body was beginning to give out from being in the Third Stage for so long._

_**'You cannot win this fight alone. Consolidate your losses; flee and return when you have help!'** the gale called out to him._

_Even in the midst of his rage, Silver seemed offended by the idea that he was not powerful enough to defeat Razor. After all, hadn't he been the first one to tap into the Third Stage? Hadn't he been the first one to discover the secret of his beast's true source? He hadn't had as much experience as the other heroes, and so they always seemed to look down on him, treat him as if he were second-rate._

_For the most part, he accepted it. He knew that it was unwise to take offense to another's diagnosis of your abilities, and that part of it was true._

_But now was his chance to prove his worth. Now was his chance to single-handedly defeat a dragon, capture a prisoner, and be the one to save the day. Now was his chance to be the hero._

_Growling in exertion, Silver unleashed an outward explosion of air, thrusting his fists outward to surround Niveus in a glowing green light, as he tried to grab hold with his telekinesis. The dragon's bulk resisted the hold, flailing about in midair as Razor tried desperately to control it._

_Desperately looking for a way to gain the advantage, he pulled down, swooping underneath Silver to make his approach at a lower angle. The serpent's jaws snapped open, a light cerulean orb of icy illumination forming there. It expanded, becoming tremendous within moments, as Niveus launched it at the floating hedgehog._

_Silver seemed unaware of his own peril as the frozen projectile approached him like a looming sunset, enveloping him as the winds began to die. It took a moment for the residual breeze to calm, as flakes of ice and snow were tossed about the battlefield._

_When the scene was less obscured, Razor surveyed his handiwork. At one end of the field, Blaze lay face down in the snow unconscious. In front of him, Silver was encapsulated in a jagged block of solid ice, his expression frozen in shock and sorrow._

_End Flashback_

In his fury, Silver had allowed himself to fall prey to the same corrupted, darkened form of power that Sonic had tapped into during the battle with Sarx. Although it granted him massive power, the strain of the Third Stage and the intoxicating effects of rage had caused him to make a fatal mistake, and now Blaze was gone because of it.

"If I go after them now, there's a chance I'll catch them before they can make it back to base! But if we wait any longer, they'll have Blaze locked up in a cell somewhere. How will I find her? Gods only know what they'll do to her-" he was unable to continue as he burst into sobbing, slumping down pitifully to cradle his head against his knees and wrap his arms around himself as the others stared at him blankly, unknowing of what they should do.

"I understand that you hold ardent feelings towards her, but it is true that we must weigh our priorities, Silver-" Tikal began slowly, but the ivory hedgehog interjected before she could finish.

"Following what the group has decided is exactly what has gotten us nothing but rotten luck so far! We've been losing this entire time! Maybe what we need to do is what they'd least expect, the most bold and daring thing!" he shouted amidst sobs, his voice choked with sorrow and choler.

Everyone was shocked by this outburst from the normally passive hedgehog. Tension was rife in the air as they all wondered what would happen next, if someone would challenge Silver or agree to help him, but as each looked to each other they saw only weakness and despair, indecision and fear. Finally Sonic wearily stood, clenching his teeth and hissing as the sword wound in his leg throbbed with a dull ache.

"Then let us help you, Silver. We have to stay together," the hero's voice was pained, and seemed somehow older than normally, as if his wounds had somehow aged him beyond his years.

"You don't understand, I was the one who let her down! I'm the one to blame! This is my fight, and none of you should get involved! I'll only fail you like I failed her!"

"It involves all of us if it involves any of us," Sonic replied, his own irritation rising at Silver's insolence, "The only way you could let us down is to do what you are now - storming off on your own, trying to be a hero."

"Like you? Like when you left everyone to train alone? Or like every time before that you faced your enemies alone to protect your friends, while they stood on the sidelines? Face it, Sonic, you're exactly like Shadow."

**"I am nothing like him!"** Sonic roared as the light of the Chimera came into his eyes, fury pulsating through his veins and a dark aura rippling over his body. The two faced off, mere inches away from one another as they had advanced slightly with each angered reply. A hush fell over the weary heroes, as Silver's golden eyes burned into Sonic's jade ones.

Just when everyone began to wonder if the ivory hedgehog would give in and sit back down, without another word, he turned and began to walk away with slow, deliberate steps.

"Silver, come back at once! Think of your responsibility as the bearer of the Wyvern!" Tikal shouted after him in a voice with volume that surprised even herself.

He made no indication that he even heard. Before long, the coiling fog wrapped its icy tendrils around Silver's snow-white form, and he vanished into the mist as if he'd never been there.

Knuckles heaved a long, exhausted sigh, and once again stood to address the group. "Look, I know that Silver just left, but if you want my honest opinion, it would be best if we split up. I have to take the Master Emerald somewhere secure, but if we all go, that will just attract Hisaki's attention."

"It feels like no matter what we do, we can't win. If we stay together, they'll find us, but if we split up, we'll be weaker," Tails lamented, staring at his adopted older brother, his idol with a pleading look. Before his eyes, Sonic seemed to become an entirely new person, recovering from the bitterness, shock and anger of Silver's departure and returning to his old carefree personality.

"Hisaki told us more than they thought. Metal Sonic is the key. He said that he arranged for Robotnik to die, but... Shadow killed him. That doesn't make any sense," he began, tracing his fingertip lightly over his chin as he thought, "Now, I'm guessing that since Metal Sonic seems to be high up in Hisaki that he's got a pretty good idea of what their plans are. He said we were fulfilling their plans, didn't he? Well how could he know that unless he knew what the plans were. Now, if he was in Hisaki back when Eggman died, like if he was, say, planning Robotnik's death then maybe there are some clues left in the ruins of the Egg Carrier."

"That's... actually pretty smart, Sonic. I could probably decode Dr. Eggman's technology to see what kind of knowledge he had of Hisaki and their plans," Tails blurted, seeing his chance to finally show his worth.

"But Tails shouldn't go alone in case we run into any of those Hisaki creeps," Rouge interjected, smiling at the fox boy. "I'll go with him, I know computers pretty well myself."

"Aw, I don't need a babysitter," he pouted, glancing at her furtively.

"Don't think of it as me babysitting you, think of it like… you teaching me how to work all of Eggman's machines," she responded quickly, a sly smile on her lips.

"I cannot overstate the importance of this, friends. The knowledge you uncover could very well be the difference between victory and defeat. The fate of the universe rests in your hands," Tikal remarked while gazing off in the direction Silver had went.

"No pressure," Tails muttered jokingly to his partner, as the two of them also began to walk away from the group, disappearing into the mist. The remaining heroes stared after them for a moment, before glancing around at each other.

"I will go with Knuckles. With the Master Emerald I can use Chaos Control to return here if necessary," Tikal remarked, glancing at the crimson guardian for a split second and then quickly returning her gaze to the group.

Sonic thought for a moment, before looking up at Chaos. Only the two of them were left. Their eyes met, and both of them knew precisely what the other was thinking; the exact same thing that he was.

"We'll go back to Eruthros secretly and see if we can uncover any clues about Amy. She might still be lost somewhere in the city. If we hurry, we might beat Hisaki to her," Sonic remarked hopefully, as Chaos nodded.

"Then it's decided. We each have our missions. Godspeed to all of us and to those who have already left. We ride upon the winds of destiny, holding the fate of the world in our hands."

* * *

Author's Notes (please read):

To my readers, my inspiration. Although there was initially some indications that my retirement might have been coming earlier than expected, I've decided to postpone my retirement, and continue working on CT. Obviously, I hope to finish this undertaking, but I've realized that if I am to finish it, I will have to buckle down and force myself. In the past, I never liked to write when it didn't come to me on it's own, always saying that what I call spontaneous inspiration provided the best stories. But I need to accept facts. I haven't received spontaneous inspiration in about a year. I'm getting older. I don't know exactly what's happened, but something has changed within me. My creativity hasn't waned but... my excitement has. I mean no insult to you, my readers, who are a constant source of encouragement to me, even when I least deserve it. Perhaps my work won't be quite as good if forced, but then again something is better than nothing. And you deserve something. Having read this far and invested this much time in this story, you deserve a conclusion, a resolution, closure and solace. And I intend to give you that.

Three different writers on one project is... too much to ask the fans to tolerate. Apart from that, I have also failed to find and groom an apprentice to come after me who I believe could live up to the expectations I have of myself, and of anyone who would bear the name of this account. I realize that I've... allowed the account to wane in notoriety and following with my long periods of inactivity, and I'll make no excuses for that. Those are my fault. That's why... I've decided that I need to just... barrel down, and attempt to finish this thing off as quickly as I am able, in one final burst of creativity. I am setting a new goal: to compose one chapter of either CT... every other week. Obviously there will be some times when I won't be able to... If I get in one at least every few weeks I'll be content, but if I have to stay up late, I will. It is my obligation, and whatever steps I must take to complete it, I will take them. Hopefully, I will have finished CT within the next year or so. A daunting task. After I finish, I will likely not return to the world of FFN. Wish me luck. I will need it.

I will confirm that I am searching for an apprentice to train, and that once I have finished Crimson Twilight and EAI, that I will be departing from FFN. My official policy from no on is not taking on any additional projects or stories, I am not updating any others besides these two. If I am not able to find a successor before I depart, the account may close forever. I would like to humbly ask that you all try to make my final months here the best, and that you continue to support me with your reading and reviews as you always have. I apologize for my long periods of inactivity; it was unfair for me to make you wait for so long to continue to read a story, especially when it has always been you, my faithful readers, who have inspired me to become more than I could've ever imagined.

And now, I have saved the best announcement for last. Over the time I have managed this account, many things have been said of me pertaining to the original Myz. Some said I was substantially worse than he, some, and it humbles me greatly, said that I was better. One person even accused me of being him and merely pretending to be another, which I considered the highest compliment I could receive. But it is with the utmost pride that I announce to you that in order to finish this daunting task of writing this story began four and half years ago, I will be working together with the original architect and founder of this account, Mystery001.

Some have called it the greatest and most epic story ever to be published on the Sonic archives. While I don't know if I am worthy of such an esteemed title, I do know that I am honored to have been a part of something which has impacted so many people out there, and that it is my utmost pleasure to be working again with Myz, who gave me the great privilege as his most devoted fan and student of helping to finish his story.

Hopefully, with the two of us working in cohesion, we can bring you more frequent updates at a higher quality than ever before in the story's history. I'd like to invite you all personally to join me on that journey again.

Let the mystery continue.

~Myz


	16. Discovery & Promise

**Chapter 16 – Discovery & Promise**

From the heavens above, a calm, gentle shower began to descend over the rustic city of Eruthros, providing it with the moisture it so desperately thirsted for. Streams of water trickled down from the finely sculpted, crimson roof tops that made up the city, creating gentle pathways at the feet of Sonic and Chaos. Thoughts swarmed the young hero's mind, making him much more pensive than the God of Destruction would have liked. But, regardless the duo continued their journey towards the center of the barren city, keeping their eyes peeled for any traces of the comrade they had come to search for.

**"**Yo, Scrawny, why so glum?" Chaos remarked, his tone divided equally between sympathetic and teasing. "Somebody steal your lunch money?"

Glancing over to his obnoxious partner, Sonic couldn't help but feel as though he were talking to a copy of himself.**"**Ha ha," Sonic retorted jokingly "I have a lot more to worry about than lunch money!

"Intrigued, the sky-blue echidna decided to dig further. "Like what?"

Peering at the the god strolling at his side, Sonic felt a bit taken back. "When did you become Doctor Phil?

"Chaos snorted, and turned his nose to the air. "I'm _much _better than a bald guy in a suit, thanks."

A gentle chuckle escaped Sonic, bringing about an unfamiliar but not at all unwelcome feeling of bliss. Recently it had been difficult for him to enjoy the simple pleasures of a joke, or even just light conversation. But, he couldn't ignore the pressing task they had come to this city for. The blue hero sighed gently, contemplating the words to use.

"You think Amy is okay?" The blue hero asked quietly, expressing the worry eating away at his soul.

"That Flower is a strong, persistent girl. You should know better than anyone if someone messes with her she'll set 'em straight." Chaos assured, setting a firm hand on Sonic's shoulder.**  
**

Yeah, you're right." He nodded. "But still, I... really don't know if I'd be able to handle not being able to save her... after losing Shadow."

"Hey, lighten up. She's around here somewhere, and if we meet any of those robed freaks, we'll just flatten 'em!" Chaos replied, trying to keep spirits alive as best he could. "Besides, there's a chance Sunshine is around here somewhere. He claims he's the Ultimate Lifeform, so have a little faith!"

"I guess you're right." Sonic smirked gently, gazing up at the shattered obsidian obelisk peaking above the rustic city buildings.

"So, any idea where we're goin', Scrawny?" The God of Destruction wondered, noticing they hadn't been paying much attention to their surroundings.

"Well, I figured the best place to look would be that tower up ahead," Sonic informed, hope evident in his words. "You said that's where she disappeared, right?"

"Yeah, but, we didn't see what happened," Chaos admitted, unusual regret lining his words. "It couldn't hurt to look."

But despite the gentle, rhythmic downpour descending from from the clouds, the god's superior hearing honed in on the sounds of footsteps nearby, progressively getting closer with each ticking second.

"I think we have company, kid!"

Transferring his attention to a run down building up ahead, the metallic rustling of armor became noticeable alongside the footsteps. Each of the heroes came to a halt, watching the devious shadows on the ground ahead beckon closer. Taking it as an opportunity to take their foe by surprise, Chaos tapped the blue blur's shoulder, signalling to a blown open doorway to their left. Exchanging nods, the duo rushed out of view, hiding within the shadows of the destroyed home.

Four figures clad in scale-like metal armor marched down the street, their weaponry scraping against their bodies with each step. Lifeless crimson goggles glowed like burning coals from within the darkness of the haunting helmets concealing their identities. The group talked amongst themselves in deep brusque voices, what they were saying Sonic couldn't discern, but it wouldn't matter.

He felt another tap on his shoulder, and he knew Chaos was urging him to strike. In one, singular leap, the blue hero shot from the depths of the run-down house. The blue hero reeled his arm back, a small orb erupting to life within his palm. His arm shot forward in a flash of blue, causing the orb to burst outwards with the power of a hurricane. The men screamed in terror as they shot every which way, colliding with the buildings that surrounded them. Brick and stone crumbled to the ground around each of the guards, their armor and weapons scattered across the street. A smirk found its way to Chaos' face, and with a whistle he clapped to congratulate his comrade's impressive work.

"Nice moves, Blue," the god complemented with a forceful pat on Sonic's back.

Groans and grumbles sounded from the defeated guards, their armor clattering together as they struggled back to their feet. One of the men swung his sword out, a vicious current of red energy darting up the length of the apex in the process. Sonic and Chaos darted their attention towards the attacker, jumping out of the way just in time. The guard slid to a stop then spun around to deal a second, relentless strike.

"Do you _know _who you're dealing with, Bright Eyes?" Chaos snorted, the blade of energy gripped in his hand. The pure intensity radiating from the blade began to eat away at the bandages hugging the god's hand, forcing him to swing the guard away.

Time proved to work against them in this case, the numbers of the guards growing with each that fell to the strength of the heroes. Sonic threw a powerful fist towards a nearing guard, ribbons of azure light swirling around his wrist upon impact. A horrendous, painful scream left the guard's lips, his armor ripping apart under the pressure of the attack leaving Sonic's hand. Pieces of metal scattered across the battlefield, some impaling many of the battling men around Chaos.

Standing above the defeated soldiers, the duo grinned at their victory. Sonic wiped away the trickling beads of sweat from his brow, then turned his sights to a doorway. Above it, a green, neon sign gently illuminated the daunting corridor it lead to.

"Let's head down there," Sonic suggested, darting a thumb towards the discovery he had made. "We won't be as easily noticeable in a tunnel"

In a few, long strides they arrived at the mouth of the tunnel, peering down into the depths.

"Seems awfully dark," Chaos replied uncertainly, his eyes scanning the ceiling, watching as the darkness swallowed whatever source of comforting light they once had.

Though they assumed to be far below the surface, the sounds of the now torrential rain pursued them. A gentle blue glow surrounded Chaos' fist, urging Sonic to follow close behind the bulky echidna providing the only available form of light. Grazing his fingers across the moss covered corridor wall, Sonic's eyes focused on the shadows being illuminated in front of them. Something within him seemed to lurch with each step, as if afraid of what was coming next.

Step by step, they descended further into the unknown. Shadows crawled and lurched on the walls at their sides, but they pressed on. Silence hung above the duo for what seemed to be hours, but the second they noticed the staircase had ended, a feeling of delight rushed through them both.

However, something caught Sonic's interest on the ground in front of him. Though just barely noticeable at first glance, the blue hero crouched down and examined the floor, quickly coming across Amy's white hairband that she almost always used to keep her hair neat. Clutching the small shred of hope in his hand, Sonic jogged to catch up with Chaos before he was left behind in the shadowy maze of tunnels.

**"**Looks like a door," Chaos pointed out, Sonic rolling his eyes to the obviousness of the statement. "Well, should we check it out?"**  
**

Suddenly metal scraped against metal, the door sliding open against Chaos' incredible might. A cascading ocean of light shone through the open doorway, providing an illuminated pathway towards a strange object in the distance. Returning weary gazes to one another, Sonic and Chaos moved towards the object at the end of the strange room.

Then, Sonic's heart nearly smashed through his chest, his grassy green eyes staring ahead at the motionless figure in front of him.

"No." He whispered, any amount of hope shattering the instant he laid eyes on the sight before him."It can't be..."**  
**  
A figure hung lifelessly in a mass of ominous, green liquid. It's black fur wavered ever so gently within, showing no signs of movement. Sonic began to tremble, wishing everything would become a figment of his imagination; that he'd wake up with all his friends at his side. But, wishes never come true the way we want. To his right, he heard Chaos sigh quietly and plant a hand on his shoulder, tugging the blue blur back into reality.

"I guess he's gone," Sonic mumbled quietly, dragging himself back up to his feet, tears collecting at the edges of his eyes.

"Sorry, kid," Chaos replied drearily, equally as shocked from the gruesome discovery.

Wiping away the wetness from his face, Sonic stared at the ebony figure in front of him and sighed with a choppy breath.

"Help me get him outta there...He deserves to buried," the solemn hero said, searching for a way to drain the liquid holding Shadow in place.

* * *

Deep within the bleak corridors snaking beneath the deserted city of Eruthros, a young pink hedgehog sat quietly in the dark. Her bright, emerald orbs gazed blankly at her toes peaking through the ends of her boots. With a light, boredom fueled sigh she turned her attention up at the barred window taunting her from the top of the prison cell. Her shining jade eyes then danced across the various dents she had created in the wake of her earlier frustration. It became chillingly evident that she wouldn't be getting out of this place on her own will, especially with the quiet robed man constantly watching her.

Staring begrudgingly at the man seated silently beyond her cell, Amy picked up the small cup of water and sipped on it.

"Why do you have to sit here and watch me?" she remarked curiously, with a hint of spite in her words. "It's pretty clear I can't break free, so why bother?"

The man clad in shadows remained silent, save for the gentle sigh as he redirected his gaze. "You probably think I'm weak like everyone else," Amy murmured, swishing the water around in her cup. "All I ever manage to do is burden my friends. Right now they're probably wasting their time looking for me, instead of focusing on what's important. But I guess you really don't care, do you?"

Receiving nothing more than a silent stare, Amy felt a chill run up her spine. After setting her drink on the ground, she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep warm as best she could in her miserable situation.

"What's your name?" she asked suddenly, her eyes watching the figure as he stood. "Let me guess, no reply. Typical."

From her heavy exhale, the locks of hair drooping past her nose blew upwards. Footsteps reverberated through the small room, but they quickly stopped. Amy glanced passed the rusting cell, watching the man stand in place, seemingly wrestling with a thought.

"Even the smallest of buds eventually bloom into roses."

* * *

A curtain of mist hugged Sonic as he stared down at the small headstone he had pieced together. His gloves had been stained with clumps of wet soil, and his knees dirtied. The depressing task of burying one of his best friends fell upon him, to which he accepted as his duty. And now, he couldn't help but stare down at the wet, cold earth that separated him from the one he struggled so desperately to save. He fought time and time again to bring his friend back – back to those who loved and cared for him. He made a promise to not only himself, but to Rouge. To know he had broken such a delicate vow...it hurt.

All those years ago, he was certain it'd be the day he prevailed. The day he returned with his comrade - and his brother - at his side. Their clash at the Lake of Tears made many things clear. From that day forth, they were enemies, but at the same time best friends. Each fighting one another to cope with the tragedy in their lives.

_Flashback_

_Light._

_There was nothing else, just a pure realm of light. There was no danger, no safety, only a realm of pure peace. In the center of that realm, floating near each other but seemingly so far away, were two heartbroken friends._

_The two seemed out of place in the pure palace of light, with their demon-mimicking features._

_One a glowing red and white color, with eyes of desperate crimson and mouth slightly open. His half-lidded eyes seemed lost to the world, to the unfolding events. He had tried so hard to change his friend's mind, to persuade him to return home._

_The hero's intentions were pure, only set on saving a friend from the seductive darkness that beckoned him away from his allies and friends. They had fought and this was the final, climatic clash between the two, the one that would decide the others fate._

_The other was of a deep, obsidian color, contrasting the realm he was currently in greatly. The bat-like wings on his back were no longer flapping; they were still and stretched out behind him. His mouth was agape, letting his fanged canines slip out of the barrier of his lips. His dull, ebony eyes were half-lidded and tired. He was tired of the fighting, tired of the struggles, tired of the pain._

_The dark one's intentions were evil and foul. His mind was set only on revenge, he only wanted to kill. That was why he had become a traitor, why he had left his friends behind, and why he had tried to kill his closest. There was no going back for him; his only option was following the road set out for him by the demon that had beckoned him with power._

_The two friends looked each other in the eye, seeing the pain they had been through and was currently going through. One accepted it, the other tried to deny it, but they both knew it._

_They were friends, they were brothers, and they both began weeping silently at their tragedy._

_End Flashback_

At that moment, he made a silent vow to save Amy no matter what. Even if meant his own death, he wouldn't allow anyone else to die, especially someone he cared for so dearly. Sonic tightened his hand into a fist, knuckles cracking one by one from the sudden movement in his fingers. He knew it was time to start acting more like a hero, and protect everyone close to his heart. It was his duty, his job, and most of all, a privilege that he welcomed on himself.

"Hang on, Ames, I'm comin' for ya'."

* * *

Authors Notes: 

I'm greatly happy to inform you all that this chapter marks the beginning of weekly chapter updates! A lot of more activity is going to be seen from me in the coming months. Be on the look out for new One-Shots (which will be coupled with Sneak Peaks from Crimson Twilight) as well as some other surprises! I appreciate everyone's support and dedication, and can only show it by dedicating myself to this story and giving you all consistent updates like In the Endprovided.

Once more, thank you all for your support and dedication. I hope you all stick around for the great things to come!

Let the mystery continue.

~Myz


	17. Void

**Chapter 17 - Void**

****Shielding his eyes from the blazing midday sun with one hand, the young twin-tailed fox used the other to tap the display of his wrist-mounted GPS device. The signal had been teetering on the edge of nothingness for the past half hour or so thanks to the thick, overgrown foliage, and with each passing moment, the diminutive genius became less and less assured of their route. ****

**"**Rouge, I think we might be lost. Everything looks the same to me," admitted Tails, who would much rather be finding his way through a mainframe than a rainforest. ****

The ivory bat paused to listen to the young fox, but did not reply, instead focusing all her attention on her surroundings. Tails' mechanical gadget, advanced as it was, relied upon satellite signal for its information. Rouge however, combined an impeccable sense of direction with the most acute sense of hearing to direct herself. Even the word _lost _had little meaning to her geographically, instead calling forth memories of departed friends. ****

**"**Maybe if we head over to the river, you can use your beast to expand your awareness and find out if the carrier is anywhere near the water," Tails suggested hopefully, finally opting to stow his GPS since it wasn't of much help anyways. **  
**  
"It's a longshot, but it's better than wandering around aimlessly in the jungle," Rouge replied as she swatted away a swarm of mosquitoes. A trickling noise guided them without much difficulty to a shallow part of the water where the roots of mangrove trees mingled with the whispering eddies like motionless tentacles. ****

Rouge knelt down in the damp soil by the water's edge, her fingers trailing lightly across its surface, leaving swirling ripples in their wake. A cold, inhuman voice resonated within her, bubbling forth from the waters of the deep. ****

**"**_**The craft you seek is sunken half-way into the river, about a half a mile upstream."**_****

The ivory bat jolted backwards as if she'd been hit by something, her breathing labored and erratic. ****

**"**Rouge, are you okay?" her fox companion asked in concern.****

**"**I'm fine. But now I know exactly where we need to go." **  
**

* * *

****Within the dank confines of the slowly rusting carrier, the almost material silence was broken only by the occasional plop of a drop of rainwater into one of the many pools collecting on the metallic floor. The two heroes ventured forth into a beam of sun shining through a gaping hole in the ceiling. Vines trailed down through the opening like slithering serpents, casting their shadows onto an island of light in a sea of darkness. ****

The heroes stood still as another sound reached their eyes, this one entirely unlike the musical plops and gentle drizzling of water. It was a rhythmic clacking sound, reverberating from a room to their left. Looking at each other in confusion, they stepped forward into the side room to find the darkness illuminated by the flickering blue light of a computer screen. ****

Two figures that were standing in front of the screen whirled around to face the newcomers, their faces clearly demonstrating their surprise at being interrupted, their distinctive Hisaki cloaks trailing around their bodies, but their hoods pulled back. On the left stood a mahogany furred jackel, his keen yellow eyes flicking over the intruders as if measuring them. To his right, a teal colored wolf whose features resembled those of Sarx.****

**"**Just what we needed, meddling heroes," the canine stranger sighed with a roll of his eyes. ****

**"**Erebrus, this is indeed unexpected, but if I may, there's only two of them, and one of them is only a child." ****

**"**Hey! I'll have you know I'm fourteen years old!" Tails responded in defiance, hormonal anger flaring. Erebrus chuckled slightly at this outburst, before turning to his companion with a grin.****

**"**Misos, how about you take care of these two, and then you can finish getting the Doctor's data. Meanwhile, I've got business to attend to."****

**"**Hey if you think we're just going to let you walk out of here-" the ivory bat's sentence was cut off as she was struck in the face by a swirling cyclone that seemed to appear from out of nowhere. The aquamarine wolf stepped forward, unsheathing his sword and smirking, as Erebrus departed the room for the main laboratory. ****

**"**My dear, I apologize for the interruption, but I believe you will find a suitable challenge in myself," Misos chuckled lightly, "But please inform me if you wish to surrender, I would never forgive myself if I brought excess harm to a lady."****

Rouge stood to her feet in fury, her aquamarine eyes glowing with the light of the Basilisk. **  
**  
"I'd recognize that pompous, smooth talking voice anywhere. You must be related to Sarx," she growled, her fists clenched and already swirling with the pale blue light of her beast's energy.****

**"**Why yes, as a matter of fact, he was my brother. It was... truly unfortunate, how events progressed in the tower."****

"He got was coming to him! And guess what? You'll be next!" Rouge remarked, her disgust furthering at remembering the man they had defeated not too long ago.

Staring with minor interest, Misos gripped his blade tightly, only to sigh. "Such a juvenile remark, dear. Do you not understand the forces you're up against? My brother was just the beginning."

The teal furred wolf strolled towards the heroes, his foot steps calm and fluid. Roaring winds began to pick up inside the confines of the laboratory, threatening to sweep the duo away like mere toys. The blackened sword of the Hisaki soldier scraped along the floor, when suddenly a powerful cyclone consumed it.

"It's ironic, really. He boasted of his power, stating he was the better of us. Yet now he's buried in a pile of rubble." Misos' calm expression remained, varying only slightly as he heaved the blade upwards. The wind in the room howled, the sword becoming the eye of the storm. "It's relieving to know I can exact revenge on the ones who killed him."

"We won't just roll over and die, you know!" Tails shouted, faint traces of fear lining his words.

"If it isn't I who harvests your lives, then I assure you it'll be whatever Doctor Robotnik was hiding here." The younger wolf stated, allowing his sword to fall against the ground. "I believe he called it Project Void. But I'm certain you already knew of it, otherwise you wouldn't be here. I can make a promise that the two of you stand no chance in capturing it."

"And what makes you think you guys can?" Rouge sneered.

* * *

Clutching a chunk of scrap metal, Erebrus glared at the glass pod standing daringly ahead of him, a smirk finding its way onto his lips at the thought of causing mayhem. With a quick step, the jackal heaved his arm forwards and fired the jagged piece of scrap hurtling across the derelict laboratory.

****Glass fell chaotically to the ground, becoming engulfed by the thick liquid spilling through the shattered capsule. The heavenly light cascading down from above seemed to just barely cast it's warm glow on the treacherous substance leaking to the floor. Sharp, yellow eyes darted across the inky shadows of the rusted over holding room of the Egg Carrier, gazing upon the cryptic figure coming to life before him. Metallic wiring laced through the being's skin and danced with electric charges, sending writhing convulsions through its smoking body.

A gleaming smile lit up in the shadows, white cloth draping down from his forearms and Erebrus' feet. His excited expression only seemed to grow further with each leaping arc of energy around the

being before him.

"No wonder He wants this … _thing_..." Erebrus snickered, preparing himself for the demonic creature coming to life. ****

Steam began to roll upwards from the pools of sparkling water filling the sinking corners of the caved in room. A layer of mist began to surround the shattered capsule sitting in the barren laboratory, creating a veil in front of Erebrus. Through the shroud of thick condensation, two orbs of haunting violet opened up, the steam dispersing the same instant. Glass cracked under the feet of the creature as it climbed through the obliterated confines of it's prison, a malicious chuckle escaping it's fanged maw. ****

Water splashed against Erebrus' foot, the cloth surrounding his arms shining with an intense blue light, as if to cast the evil out of the creature standing before him. A defiant snigger escaped the dark furred jackal, his grin becoming broader to the prospect of such a beast existing. ****

**"**Who are you?" It questioned stoically, a swirling sea of crimson, black and violet energies hugging it's body with such fluidity one would mistake it to be a living thing.****

Stomping forth, water splashed around Erebrus' boot, the sound bouncing off the titanium walls. "Your tour guide," he responded snidely. "And whether you kick, punch or scream, I'll drag you with me all the same."****

Cocking his head slightly, the still damp, navy blue quills of the creature tilted with him. "And what if I don't wanna?"****

**"**I'll have to snap your legs and drag you back, you freak," Erebrus scowled, his eyes widening in absolute delight, the cloth slithering on the ground like snakes called forth by a charmer.****

The heart of the creature pounded heavily at the last two words the cloaked agent uttered. An enraged scowl fell upon the jackal, anger boiling up inside the demon's veins.****

**"**_**Freak?**_**"**

* * *

"Because our Master knows what is best, and can tame any amount of anger or hostility. This project of Doctor Eggman's is really a sight to behold. Something of its power level will need our Master for salvation."

"Well I don't think you two are capable of anything! You were probably just sent here as fodder," Tails quipped angrily, an orange and red cannon forming over his forearm and hand.

Misos' roared and swung the sword around, the gusts of air following its movement and rushed against the heroes. Both Rouge and Tails yelped in fear, their feet slipping away from the sturdy floor and their bodies flying up into the rustic walls. Jumping after his prey, the infinite source of air seemed to propel him further like a tornado had assisted the canine.

Wide, turquoise eyes watched in horror as the blade neared. Rouge gasped, bracing for the impalement, but a split second before it came, a shell of water wrapped around her being. The water suddenly burst outwards like a bomb, sending Misos back down to the ground and sliding amidst the liquid. Misos dug his sword into the ground to right himself, then shot a vicious glare up at the heroes, wind beginning to cloak his fist like a glove.

"Rouge, I'll give you a lift so you can attack from the air while I distract him!" Tails suggested with quick wit, then grabbed Rouge's hands to fly above their target.

Watching silently, the blue wolf gripped his sword and swung upwards, creating an extending blade of wind. The cutting force of air rocketed up through the laboratory, carving apart the titanium floors and walls as though it were made of nothing more than clay. Quickly veering left, Tails heaved Rouge forth, adding momentum to her prepared attack. A volley of light spheres darted past the holder of the Basilisk in a frenzy of light, creating explosions to mask her whereabouts. However, Misos whirled around on the spot, unleashing a vortex to disperse the smokescreen, but it proved to be a futile move when he realized Rouge inches away.

Rouge smashed the heel of her boot against the wolf's skull, using the momentum of her fall to add to her strength. Silence filled the room, and Misos stumbled forward before tumbling to the ground, blood leaking from a deep wound on his skull. Rouge staggered away from the body in fear, not because of the fact she had possibly killed him, but the fact he was still breathing. Planting his hands in puddle of blood, Misos struggled back to his feet, a dangerous look filling his eyes. At that moment, the wind picked up, forcing Tails to the ground. The vessel creaked against the power of the gale, and Misos clenched his fist tightly whilst dropping his sword to the ground.

Crimson eyes loomed upwards at the bat, the wind swirling around the room intensifying further. Suddenly Misos jumped forwards, his wind wrapped fist reeled back and prepared to strike. However, a wave of moisture burst free from Rouge, mixing in with the violent air. The temperature in the room dropped suddenly, ice crawling up the wolf's ankles, inching up to his knee caps and further. His movements became sluggish, and in the blink of an eye, snow began to swirl around the laboratory, engulfing the wolf who had manipulated the wind. He screamed, so ferociously one might think he was a bat out of hell. His fist quickly froze over, and next his body become a chunk of ice, set in place against the frozen floor. Crystal and frost extended up from the floor like serpents, further encasing the room with ice. Rouge watched the wolf fall forwards ever so slowly, his fearsome expression forever illustrated against the casket of frozen water.

Then the wolf smashed against the ground, his body turning into a puzzle of a thousand pieces.

* * *

Wave upon wave of energy shot free from the dark hedgehog, masking its body as he dashed ahead like a flash of light. The cloaking of darkness formerly swarming around it swirling and compacting into a pulsating orb clutched tightly in its palm. The wires that had been dug into its skin ripped out, whipping violently in the air from the sudden jerk.

****Finding absolutely no time to block, Erebrus' body dissolved into a cloud of black leaves. A flash of navy and crimson burst through the swirling foliage, and into the just barely standing wall behind. Dust, smoke and debris exploded away from impact, giving way for the violent creature as it shot through into the sunken hallway of the once imperial vessel.****

Leaves rustled together, Erebrus' body materializing once again, his casual smirk returning near instantly. Walking calmly through the wreckage, the jackal glared at the hedgehog rubbing his chin in thought.****

**"**You look strikingly similar to a blue brat we've been having troubles with," he remarked suspiciously. "Say, do you have any siblings?"****

Earning nothing but a seething growl, Erebrus snorted and rushed forwards to do away with the temperamental hedgehog standing before him. Raising a clenched fist, Erebrus launched it forwards, the cloth around his arms collecting to add density to his knuckles the moment it came into contact with the dark being's face, sending it crashing and breaking through multiple frail walls.****

Debris spiralled in on itself from the impact, creating a vortex of smoke. Once again dispersing into a swirling storm of black leaves, the tormenting jackal reappeared in front of the beast, watching it writhe in pain with sick glee.****

The uncanny smirk nearly fell straight off of Erebrus' face as the beast bounded up like a cat from water. A single, terrifyingly powerful fist crashed into the jackal's jaw, lifting the larger of the combatants into the air from the sickening force. Another fist jabbed into the robed villain like a rocket, a shockwave of dark energy enveloping him momentarily before firing him up into the ceiling. ****

**"**Wh-what the hell?"****

Before he could so much as catch his next breath, he found the wicked violet eyes staring him in the face, and next a hand clenched tightly around his throat. Not a second passed before the dark beast swung around and fired Erebrus back down into the ground, whom tumbled dangerously before smashing into the opposite wall.****

The jackal groaned in pain, falling from the indent face first, only for the collar of his cloak to be tugged at, his face being forcibly moved to look his attacker in the eye. It's eyes void of all that would be defined as godly or moral, a twisted, malicious grin complementing its frightening vision. The beast snarled dangerously, resembling a rabid animal. It's hands clenched the jackal tighter, pulling him closer. However, Erebrus' body begun to heat up, his skin starting to give off waves of heat.

"Have you ever heard of the Egyptian Sun God...?" the jackal questioned deviously, watching the creature tremble in pain as it's body smoked. "Ra was said to resemble the essence of the sun itself. He emanated heat, light and brilliance. Anyone who touched him were turned to shrivelled up crisps. And guess what I'm going to do to you?"

Overpowering the hedgehog, Erebrus grasped his opponents wrists. Golden light seemed to engulf Erebrus, illuminating the room with a heavenly glow. However, the enraged beast fought against his captors grip and jumped away in fear. With a dark grin, the jackal lurched forwards, his body fading into a cloud of twisting foliage once again, only for him to reform in front of the creature. The light shining from Erebrus' body intensified to the point the floor of the downed vessel began to glow white from the heat. However, the creature punched his captor, sending him stumbling backwards. A flash of violet overtook the shining light of Erebrus, and in the next instant, the jackal was gone. The creature disappeared in a flash of purple, appearing above his unconscious attacker.

* * *

"What is that?!" Tails shouted in shock, guarding himself from the flurry of smoke that suddenly filled the room.

A being burst forth into the iced over laboratory, and slid past the young fox towards the far wall. Soon after, a flash of violet appeared within the cloud of dust and smoke, forcing it away in a burst of violent power. Both Tails and Rouge gasped, their eyes falling upon the hellish hedgehog standing above the Hisaki agent they had encountered earlier. Energy smoked away from the dark creature's body, its aura swirling and contracting like waves in the ocean, further displaying it's raw power. The beast leaned over and grasped the man by the collar, heaving him up into the air to stare at him, cradling a shining purple orb of light all the while.

"Heh, so you're stronger than I anticipated," Erebrus stated, coughing up a mouthful of saliva and blood. "But unlike my partner, I'm no pushover."

Suddenly white cloth slithered away from the jackal's body like snakes. Each strand of fabric twirled around the creatures legs, then its torso. The beast screamed in fear and anger, his arms becoming tied to his sides. Erebrus snickered and stumbled to the ground, kneeling amidst his partner's iced over remains.

"No one has ever escaped the Bindings of the Pharaoh. The cloth used to trap my foe is soaked with Chaos Energy to nullify any attack they might try – you're basically paralysed," the jackal stated, watching as his target became completely consumed by the cloth. "I guess I win."

"Who is that!" Rouge shouted in shock.

Turning his attention over to the heroes, Erebrus heaved the being over his shoulder and smirked. "Project Void, a genetically enhanced clone of Sonic the Hedgehog using the Negative energies of the Chaos Emeralds. Though...he's really violent, no wonder the old buffoon stopped working on it..."

"A...clone?" Tails murmured in shock, his mind starting to race with anxious thoughts. "But, how did the Doctor ever have time to do that?"

"Don't ask me, kid." Erebrus smirked, then walked through a portal of darkness, his prize in tow.

* * *

****Walking through a swirling portal of darkness, Erebrus emerged with a struggling figure in tow. Boots tapped against the flawless white marble spanning across the circular room, while the jackal tugged Void behind him, his breathing ragged and pained. Cryptic, obsidian pillars reached up to the gaping, vast ceiling, which housed rods of light to give the hall it's heavenly glow. Manic violet eyes darted from behind the cloth that wrapped Void's body, the hellish gargoyles mounted atop the hundred or so pillars staring back at him with their ferocious scowls. ****

Suddenly the cloth constraining the dark being loosened, but only to tighten as Erebrus tugged the beast around his body. Void tumbled across the marble floor, then the cloth disappeared in a flash of light. Instantly, the newborn creature scrambled to his feet, his energy exploding to life once again. But as quickly as it had ignited, it had been snuffed out like a match in the wind. Dark eyes searched the hall, finding nothing other than a quiet being resting on a ebony throne, his arms gently outstretched. ****

Shoes squeaked against the marble floor, and Void took off across the gigantic mosaic emblem emblazoned across it. A sinister, howling laughter escaped the attacking hedgehog, but suddenly he felt his body become heavy. He screamed, the dark aura surrounding him weakening, and then stumbled to his knees in the middle of the throne room. Surrounding him, the blazing circle that surrounded the bloody "H" seemed to glow just slightly. His limbs felt as if they'd turned into lead, and the sheer effort it took to hold up his own arms became utterly exhausting. Eventually, the pressure became so great, so powerful, he collapsed onto the stone, growling and shouting obscenities at the being ahead of him, whom he so desperately wanted to strike down.****

**"**Go, rest yourself, Erebrus. Your presence is no longer required here." The great being spoke, his voice booming effortlessly, seemingly coming from all directions.****

**"**R-right," the jackal replied quickly, bowing to his superior, and exiting the hall.****

**"**_**When I get free I'm going to tear you a new asshole, asshole!**_**" **Void hissed viciously, writhing under the pressure of what felt like a thousand pounds. ****

**"**Silence, young one," the godlike figure replied, his voice calm as it was terrifying.****

Slowly, the robed figure rose from his throne, one hand raised towards Void, a glowing golden mark shimmering from his palm. Dark, violet eyes shot upwards to the figure - who had just been nearly a hundred feet away, now in front of him in an instant. Heavy, daunting pressure befell those that surrounded the Lord, his snow white cloak wavering amidst the power his body radiated. A warm touch rested on the creature who seemingly embodied evil, the black flames that marked the snow white sleeve, and cloak, wavering as though alive. From behind the shadows of the otherwise bright attire, two warm, gleaming green eyes stared down to Void.****

**"**Fear not, my child, your salvation is but a drop away."**  
**


	18. Shadows Fall

**Chapter 18- Shadows Fall**

Bleak earthen walls stared blankly back at Amy from within her cell. She had given up hours before on attempting to weaken the bars on her window with sheer force, and had resigned herself instead to attempting to make out interesting shapes on the wall's stony surface. This, however, proved to be about as entertaining as it sounds.

Her solace was invaded by the jarring noise of her cell door scraping roughly against the stone ground. A cloaked figure stood menacingly in the doorway, his hands cupping a metallic bowl.

"Ugh, you brought me more of that slop?" Amy groaned, glaring at her captor momentarily, "Why are you keeping me here anyways?"

He wordlessly dropped the bowl unceremoniously onto her lap, spilling a bit of the viscous brown liquid onto her dress. She yelped slightly, before looking up at the robed figure icily.

"You don't have very many friends, do you?" she commented dryly.

"As a matter of fact, I don't," came a calm, dark voice "A long time ago, I had a few... But... I detached myself from them."

She looked at the cloaked figure in surprise, staring up in silent contemplation at the dead, emotionless mask inside the dark, abysmal cowl. So far, all of the Hisaki agents they had encountered showed not a hint of remorse or compassion in their actions or words, but this enigmatic figure had said more than he thought.

"You know... it's not too late. Something very similar happened to me and my friends. We had a friend named Shadow, and he left us to try to get revenge on his brother. The guy I like, Sonic, he went after him to try to get him to see what he was doing was wrong, but it didn't work," she chattered, glancing away periodically from the mask's silent and unmoving stare.

"Well, what happened?" the figure asked with all too deliberate nonchalance, betraying a hint of interest behind his masked words.

"We all spent the next two years training to try and find him. Everybody fought against all kinds of really strong enemies, and even though we didn't always win, we never gave up. We couldn't stop Shadow from going after his brother, but even so, we rejoined him in the end in a battle against the Titan Beast, Nova."

"You did all that?" he replied incredulously, gesturing towards her thin frame to allude to her apparent weakness.

"Well... not so much me as... everybody else," Amy blushed slightly at this admission, tracing a circle in the ground with her toe.

Standing to his feet, the masked figure folded the sleeves of his robe together in front of him, the ivory flames enmeshing together. He turned and faced the high window, rays of sunlight dancing over his hellish ebony cloak.

"Shadow... is the one who died," he stated matter-of-factly, a sort of grim totality lacing his words.

Amy gasped, looking up at him in fear and confusion.

"How did you-"

"Hisaki recovered him from the scene of the battle with Nova. We had hoped that we could preserve him to save us the trouble of hunting down the new Cerberus, but by the time we got there... it was too late for your friend."

"No..."

"Unfortunately it is the truth. It would be best if you forgot about him. Holding on to your attachments will only bring you suffering."

"NO!" Amy screamed, her cry echoing throughout the underground corridors. The moment the noise had escaped from her, she fell into pitiful sobs, cradling her head within her hands.

The masked figure said nothing, only staring at her with his thoughts and emotions a complete mystery.

"I kn-knew that he was p-probably dead, but... You d-don't understand, when you work for something for s-s-so long... It means so much to you just to hope... That's all we had for a l-long time, was hope that we could bring Shadow back," Amy stuttered between broken whimpers and sniffles.

"There was nothing you or your friends could've done to save him, you least of all," despite their harshness, his words betrayed a strange compassion.

"M-Maybe if we had brought him b-back before he killed his b-brother. Maybe that f-fight drained him s-so much that he couldn't make it through the one with Nova," she offered quietly, perhaps more to reassure herself than to convince her captor.

"...It is impossible to hold yourself accountable for the possibilities," he said warily, somewhere between pity and disgust.

"P-please... whoever you are. P-please promise me. Prum-promise me you won't end up like S-Shadow. Reunite with your f-friends loved ones some day, while there's time!" she grabbed onto his sleeve frantically, her soft emerald eyes shimmering with tears.

Slowly, the hood turned towards her face, the fanged mask concealing all except for her captor's piercing crimson eyes. For a moment, the cell was pervaded by an oppressive silence as he stared at her, seemingly not even blinking or breathing.

"I promise."

Like a flash, the moment the words escaped his lips, his hand moved with lightning speed, darting into the depths of his cloak to retrieve a handkerchief. Without warning, he pressed it firmly against her face, filling her nostrils with a pungent, acrid smell.

"Wha- what..." she muttered groggily, her eyelids fluttering closed, as she sunk down. The robed figure caught her in his arms as she fainted, replacing the cloth gingerly in his cloak.

"As a wave returns to the sea, so shall you return from whence you came."

* * *

Puffy, snow white clouds tumbled aimlessly through the sky at a slow pace, tugging Sonic's gaze along with them. The beating sun stared down at the heroes, its divine light and heat unusual amidst the brisk, autumn breezes. Toying with a blade of grass in his fingers, Sonic turned his attention up to Rouge, who had sighed heavily. Since their return, and the news of their recent defeat in Eggman's laboratory, neither of the heroes felt positive in any way, shape or form.

"So what do we do now?" Rouge questioned drearily whilst toying with a strand of hair. "I feel like we're constantly taking two steps back rather than moving forwards..."

The young bat glanced over to the gravesite of Shadow, her chest tightening up like a rock had been dropped onto her. Watching his friend wipe the tears from her eyes, Sonic sighed and eased himself to his feet and stretched.

"The longer we sit here, the more chances there are for Amy to end up like Shadow," Sonic announced to the others. "Chaos and I found Amy's hair band, so she had to have been in that city."

"We should wait for Silver to get back before we do anything," Tails stated quietly, his eyes glued to the computer screen in front of him. "Besides, they know you and Chaos were there. Hisaki won't just let us waltz back in."

"Silver chose to go on his own without waiting for any help from one of us! He knows what will happen if Hisaki captures him!" Sonic lashed out, his anger flaring up dangerously.

"Put yourself in his shoes, Scrawny," Chaos remarked suddenly, causing Sonic to twirl around and glare at him. "You wouldn't have just sat back and waited for help to save Sunshine. You left alone to save Shadow, who at the time was one of your closest friends. Silver obviously loves that girl, and he's simply going to save her because of that. You're being selfish."

"What do you know?" Sonic retorted angrily, drawing closer to the god's face with a sneer. "You're just a perverted old echidna!"

In the distance, the sounds of howling machines began to drown out the quarreling of the heroes, effectively drawing their attention up to the clear sky. Seemingly out of nowhere, a fleet of GUN helicopters appeared over them, soldiers suited for battle repelling from the birds of war. Glaring upwards at the descending troops, Sonic prepared for what was to come, noticing Rouge walking towards the leader of the troops.

Though, just as she approached the man, a pair of reinforced handcuffs were thrown around her wrists, as she tripped and fell to her knees. The sounds of guns cocking popped through the brisk wind, the soldiers readying themselves for any counter attack. Sonic glared at the men, a laser sight fixated on his nose, the gun on the other side prepared to take his head off.

"What the hell do you guys think you're doing?" Chaos snorted, crossing his arms in the process. "You better let her go quietly and get off this island, or I'll have to force you all!"

"We've received hostility," one soldier commented into a small communication device. "Initiate smog, over."

"Damn right we're hostile!" Rouge barked angrily, but quickly choked back her next words at the sight of canisters falling from the helicopters.

A vicious yellow smoke quickly engulfed the heroes, smothering them with ease. The group began to cough and wheeze dangerously, each of them falling to their knees before passing out cold on the damp grass of the paradise island.

* * *

Perched atop his smooth obsidian throne, the Leader gazed down at the passing robed figures with a gaze filled in equal measure with gentle compassion and lustful ambition. He was entirely motionless apart from the drumming of his finger slowly and rhythmically along his armrest.

As he stood abruptly, all movement in the hall ceased as the Hisaki agents' eyes fixated on their leader. Descending the short stairway that elevated his throne above the rest of the hall, he stretched out his arms towards them, beckoning them closer, as the sound of his footsteps on the marble floor echoed throughout the cavernous room.

"My disciples, heed my words. Thus far, we have met with nothing but glorious victory, as I predicted," his brassy voice rang out effortlessly, "However, if our plans are to come to fruition, we will need to have every possible advantage. Our opponents, whom some of you have already met in battle, still hold possession of one of the Chaos Emeralds."

A robed figure standing directly to the Leader's right stepped forward from among the circle of acolytes, his swirling ebony robe contrasting starkly with the Leader's snowy white one.

"I will infiltrate our enemies' headquarters on Angel Island and spy on them to see where they have hidden it," came a voice that sounded curdled with death and vitriol, "But the Lord has instructed me that due to our... history for the moment, I am not to attack them directly, and risk them recognizing my energy signature."

"Who will volunteer to retrieve the Chaos Emerald once my second in command has confirmed its location?" the white robed figure asked, folding his sleeves in front of him.

With a mental start, Ares realized that by now, it was possible that Algos had reunited with his companions on Angel Island, after their encounter at GUN Command Gamma. Although he had been trained to be the ultimate soldier, he was fully aware that many members of Hisaki lacked his discretion and diplomatic abilities. If he wanted to have any chance of convincing Algos to defect to Hisaki, he had to ensure that somebody went on this mission who wouldn't go in guns blazing - someone who was willing to use around at his companions, he knew it had to be him. All of these thoughts raced through his brain in a microsecond and before they had even concluded, his arm shot upwards.  
"My Lord, I would be honored to carry out this assignment for you," Ares replied quickly, leaving the rest of the circle staring at him in mild shock.

"It appears that this matter is strangely significant to you. I was never one to admonish enthusiasm, but I must wonder if there is some ulterior motive that might compromise your objectivity," the Leader replied in a gentle, fatherly tone.

Ares fidgeted slightly beneath his robe. He had always prided himself on his stone cold demeanor, completing any tasks that were required of him, not allowing his judgement to be clouded by useless trifles such as morality or emotions - his loyalty lay only with the Leader. He had looked down on some of his companions in Hisaki such as Metal Sonic who were motivated by such primal concerns as revenge or conquest. In most cases, Ares thought of himself as little more than a machine that dispensed death and justice. But this was different, he was dealing with his only connection from before the suffering, the hatred, and finally, liberation.

"Many years ago, I had a friend who was imprisoned by GUN as well. He has shown a tendency to oppose the organization, but increasingly, he has been aligning himself with our enemies. I... had hoped that I might be able to convince him to join our organization instead. He has not opposed us directly so far."

"Ah, you mean Algos," the Leader replied in a voice so warm, you could practically feel his smile radiating from beneath his mask, "He is a lost lamb in need of a shepherd, to show him the way to salvation. If you can, lead him on the path to glory! But if he chooses to remain apart from us... he must be destroyed. For whoever is not with us, is against us."

Ares nodded as the robed figure to the right of the Leader vanished suddenly from the circle.

* * *

The overwhelming and evident smell of metal suddenly pierced through Sonic's clouded mind, lurching back into reality. Two hands rubbed his temples, gently kneading the tissue beneath his skin as he tried to grasp what had happened. Nothing more than scattered figments of events seemed to replay in his mind, providing next to no details. Glancing around through the darkness, Sonic urged his body to stand, using the wall to his right as a guide in the blackness.

Darting his attention to another corner in the room, Sonic hurried over to the motionless form of one of his allies. Emerald green eyes scanned over the body as he fell to his knees to try and wake them up. A scratchy, tired groan followed by a yawn quickly eliminated any of the blue hedgehog's concerns, realizing his younger brother was okay.

"Tails, hey, are you alright?" he muttered quietly, shaking his best friend just enough to try and wake him. "Yo, wake up man. We gotta get out of here!"

Faint turquoise gems lit up through the darkness, groggily staring back at the hero. Then, Sonic shuffled backwards, letting his comrade sit up and adjust to their surroundings.

"Where are we?" he asked aloud, gazing around at the bleak, yet strangely refined metallic walls. "Is everyone else alright?"

"I think so," Sonic replied quietly, scanning their dark prison for the rest of the group. "They're probably still knocked out. Any idea where we are?"

"No idea." Tails shook his head, but then gazed up at the ceiling with peaked interest. "I could probably squeeze through that vent up there to try and get a look around outside, though."

Following his brothers line of sight, Sonic spotted the small ventilation cut into the roof. "Think you can fit in there, bud? I wouldn't want you getting stuck in a creepy hole."

Tails chuckled, and began rotating his namesakes to lift him off the ground. "I'm not claustrophobic like you, Sonic."

With a gentle sigh, the blue hero sat on the ground, a feeling of alien uneasiness washing over him. His emerald green eyes fixated on the two tails twitching and swishing within the darkness above. Then, the prison seemed to vibrate, moving as though a part of it were alive.

"Tails! Get down here!" Sonic yelped, a wall of steel swinging shut behind him.

"Huh? Why!" the young fox retaliated, his voice echoing off the walls.

"Ugh," Sonic grumbled, jumping up to grasp his arms tightly around his brothers waist. "Just do it!

Another wall of steel viciously shifted across the ceiling, moments before the duo fell out of the vent. Then, gravity seemed to shift all around them, pressing them roughly against the floor as though a higher power held them down. Life seemed to speed up, colors flashing by the duos eyes like a buckets of paint being dumped into a fan. Then, everything stopped.

Darkness took back its hold on the small, damp room. But not for long, as a sudden cascade of blinding light flooded the prison cell.

A unified groan amongst the heroes swept throughout the room, the light managing to rouse both Chaos and Rouge, bringing them into the real world. Light continued to filled their vision, outlining the brawny figure of each GUN soldier surrounding them, denying the heroes any details of their location.

"Sonic the Hedgehog, it's been a long time since we've had a chance to talk," a booming, yet strangely ill voice called out through wheezing coughs. "I trust you and your friends were given a warm welcome?"

"Commander Towers?" Rouge asked in shock, rubbing her eyes to adjust to the now greyish light. The group of heroes stood in the middle of an all white spherical room, troops of higher up GUN soldiers positioned all around them, and in front stood the Supreme Commander. "Why'd you take us hostage? We haven't caused any trouble for you!"

"That's precisely why we've brought you all here, Rouge." The Commander coughed, clutching his chest for a moment. One of the soldiers stepped towards him, earning a wave to back off. The heroes remained quiet, watching the Commander struggle out of a wheelchair. "You're all gathered here to...prove your allegiance to the nation. Our country can't afford any further terrorism. We understand your opinion of the military, Sonic, however, we cannot allow you and your friends to continue running around as a neutral party."

"So what are you suggesting?" Sonic replied snidely, realizing where this conversation was leading towards. "You guys don't exactly have blood-free hands, y'know. And I'm not sure I want affiliate myself with people like you."

"Easy, Scrawny. This could benefit us." Chaos assured, trying to shut his comrade up before he said anything that would endanger them.

"Our faults are definitely not...in the dark anymore. I'm offering two options, and each are non-negotiable."

"And what might your options be, Commander? I'm already one of your agents, so I fail to see why you have me here." Rouge remarked with an icy tone, anger building up within her.

"Sometimes I question that, Rouge. Lately you've been rather wrapped up in the ordeals of this group and that black hedgehog." The Commanded retorted, his stern gaze resting on the fragile girl. "Now as I said, I have two options. The first, which I might say is the ideal, is to have you join into the ranks of GUN as official agents. This will ensure your allegiance, and also allow us to monitor your whereabouts and resources."

"Sounds like you just want to profit off of us..." Sonic quipped readily.

Ignoring the childish statement from the blue hero, the Commander continued. "Of course, this allegiance has it's benefits. You will be granted a headquarters here beneath Station Square, and supplies. You will have your own rooms and facilities to accommodate your every need."

"Kinda sounds like you guys are trying to sell a hotel room," Chaos snickered, tucking each of his bulky arms behind his head. "So what's the catch, Boss?"

"The catch is simple...either you are initiated into GUN, or will be treated as national enemies."

A short period of silence filled the room, as only the sounds of breathing could be heard. The group of heroes watched the Commander intently, each of them making their own decision. However, they knew they'd need to answer with an unanimous agreement.

"What're we gonna do - " Tails began, only for Chaos to shove the young fox gently out of the way, and walk confidently up to the Commander.

"Count us in!" Chaos remarked with a smirk, shaking Abraham's hand tightly.

"Smart decision." Commander Towers nodded, then gestured towards his soldiers to open up a door to the rest of the facility. "You'll be shown to your rooms whenever you're all ready."

* * *

Before Ares had even blinked after the departure of Hisaki's second in command, the robed wraith reappeared amongst the circle of fiends, with nothing but a flash of light and a puff of smoke to signify he'd ever gone.

"It seems the two echidnas have secluded themselves from the others and taken the Chaos Emerald with them. You'll find them in hiding in the tropical rainforests of northern Foliumager. I've recorded more precise coordinates into the Hisaki mainframe."

Ares swallowed his disappointment as he realized that he would not have the opportunity to meet with Algos on his current mission, repressing this so as not to display any weakness to his associates.

"Ares, Echo - go forth and retrieve the Chaos Emerald. We will concern ourselves with Algos at another time," ordered the ivory robed leader in a commanding yet conciliatory tone.

The two robed figured bowed and turned from the circle of twelve black apostles surrounding their ivory savior.

* * *

Authors Notes:

I want to apologize for the long wait for this chapter. I've been in and out of the hospital due to a fractured leg/ankle, and haven't had the time I would have liked to get around to finishing this chapter. As a special treat to kick off the month, you can expect another chapter to be up this **Friday**. So be sure to check back for Chapter 19: The God of War.

Once again, thank you all for the support and dedication.

Let the mystery continue,

~Myz


	19. The God of War

**Chapter 19 - The God of War**

Trudging silently through the dense forest, Tikal heaved the basket over her shoulders, allowing a few of the delectable fruit to drop and tumble down into the swamp. Her sandals quickly became caked with mud, while also dirtying her exposed feet. The young princess gazed down at her dirty toes with mild annoyance, trying to shake what she could off into the grass.

"My... how am I ever going to get back up to the shrine?" She pondered, staring up the imposingly steep cliffside from whence she came. "I suppose going around will suffice..."

Letting free a short sigh, the echidna began her journey around the treacherous cliffside. Birds swooped through the sky from her disturbance, while the animals that lurked within the dense jungle darted away from the invader of their home.

_**'Watch your step, Princess. The ground seems very unstable along this path,'**_ the Griffon bellowed from within her subconscious.

With a gentle nod, the echidnian priestess examined the ground, and planted a hand on the cliff's wall to guide her step, "Thank you."

Tikal's sapphire eyes shifted up into the sky to examine the flocks of fowl retreating from the lonely jungle. Their cries seemed to echo and fill the jungle, overpowering the many other curious sounds reverberating beyond the trees.

Then, one misplaced step led to Tikal's downfall. Her body heaved upwards at the sudden disappearance of the ground beneath her, dragging her down into a dark abyss that had been covered by a netting of leaves. Tikal stumbled once landing on the sticky and muddy ground in the pit, then twisted her glance back up to her freedom to find two figures perched at the edge.

"Looks like we've found our bait, Ares," one of the figures remarked with a yawn, his orange eyes gleaming from behind the mask.

"She's the bearer of the Griffon now, Echo," the larger figure replied, glancing briefly at his comrade. "Don't take her lightly. I have a feeling she's not done yet."

Turning their attention back, a sudden flash of warm, silver light expanded out of the abyss. Branches swayed viciously, while the trees surrounding bent from the force of the shockwave. Jumping back, the Hisaki agents watched as waves of energy burst up from within the pit, then followed by Tikal, who had now formed a thick cloak of silvery-white energy around her body.

"Interesting," Ares smirked slightly, "Take care of her, then meet up with me. I'm going to go find the red one."

Watching as the black cloaked fluttered off in the distance, Echo turned his attention back to the echidna rushing towards him. An arm of energy launched towards him, however, using a quick upwards swipe, a sonic boom ripped through the attack, turning it into a storm of sparkles. However, the flurry was disrupted as Tikal came rushing through it, her movements guided entirely by the Griffon himself.

"Heh, persistent!" Echo snickered, then rolled out of the way once landing on the swampy ground.

Mud jumped upwards from his shoes, and then as he jumped to his feet, the hedgehog punched the air, sending another swirling sonic boom into Tikal. The young echidna yelped heavily, the attack carrying her up into the air before allowing her to fall brutally to the ground.

Echo stumbled towards his prey, eyeing her up carefully as to avoid any sneak attack she had concocted. Then, not even five paces away from the unmoving echidna, another flash of vicious, white-hot energy erupted from her body. A swirling, twisting form of a lion with eagles' wings wrapping her body.

"You heroes just don't know when to stop, do you?" Echo sighed, jumping to a safe distance as the young priestess floated to her feet with the help of the Griffon. "What a bother..."

Digging into his cloak, Echo tore away his mask, allowing it to break into pieces upon it's departure. Dirt sprung up behind the hedgehog's feet, as two long silver chains drooped down behind him.

Tikal sprung forth with the aid of the pulsing wings on her back, but all was too late. Another shockwave burst towards her, ripping apart the cloaking of energy around her. The Griffon seemed to screech in pain from the attack. As quick as the first burst had come, a second and third followed, completely obliterating the aura around Tikal. Echo sighed and watched as she fell to her knees, allowing him to wrap her up with the silver chains.

As the metal scraped past her skin, it shone faintly, giving off a turquoise glow in response to the energy seeping off of Tikal's body. "With these tying you up, your Chaos Energy will be sucked away so you can't do anything sneaky. Rather convenient I'd say."

Echo quickly scooped his prisoner up, then set off towards Ares to find their next target.

* * *

At first, the only sensation that appeared to the battered hedgehog's senses was a faint humming noise, like the gentle buzz of a bumblebee. He blinked, flooding his weary eyes momentarily with the blindingly bright light of his stark white surroundings before retreating back to the comforting darkness behind his eyelids.

After a few moments, his curiosity finally got the better of him, and Algos slowly opened his suddenly leaden eyelids to survey the room with rising confusion, suspicion and fear. Overhead, a whirring ceiling fan glided slowly and hypnotically through the air, calling to mind the rotor of a helicopter. The humming he had first noticed issued from the hanging fluorescent lights and not sinister implements of torture, as he was half expecting.

"He's waking up," a voice drifted in through his delirium, as he struggled to find awareness.

"W-where am I? Who are you?" he asked, noting that his arms and legs were not secured by straps but by his own exhaustion.

"You're being treated at the infirmary at GUN Command Gamma. I'm nurse Hadley, and this is Doctor Chase," she smiled but his vision was still very blurry, and their stark white uniforms blended in with the wallpaper like camouflage.

"I'm not- you mean, I'm not a prisoner?" he said in an airy half growl.

She laughed slightly, before replying, "Of course not, dear. You must be confused from your medication. You're on very powerful pain-killers. You suffered extensive injuries while helping to defend the base from the terrorists that attacked a few days ago, and had to have surgery."

He rubbed his jaw, feeling a dull soreness beginning to return to his muscles and joints and wincing slightly at the sensation. It felt almost wrong to him to be receiving medical care from GUN that was not in the form of grossly ethically perverse experiments and inhumane torment, and so he could not help but regard every mundane medical instrument with paranoid suspicion.

"You're recovering more quickly than anticipated, and with a day or so of bed-rest so we can keep you under observation, you should be clear to go," the nurse smiled, before checking the levels on his IV and clacking out of the room in her tall black heels.

_'Go... where?'_ a timid, questioning voice peaked forth from the back of his skull, sounding almost afraid of offering its opinion. He contemplated this question solemnly, rolling it backwards and forwards in his mind like a plank of driftwood being toyed with by the frothy waves of the sea.

'_There is always Sonic and the others,'_ one corner of his mind suggested, adding to the dialogue.

He had left saying he was going to seek the truth. Had he truly found it? He had found some answers, but it seemed as if the more he uncovered, the more questions and complications it aroused, as if by finding the truth of one mystery, it spawned a thousand more.

He now knew the truth of his past, or at least, as much of it as he was likely to ever know. But as it turned out, his past didn't tell him who he was - he was left just as confused as ever about the future, and he couldn't shake Ares' tempting offer from his mind.

_Flashback_

_Algos closed his brilliant azure eyes, regretting only that he'd had so little time to live with the knowledge of his past. He prepared himself for death._

_But to his surprise, death did not come. After a moment of waiting in fearful anticipation, he opened his eyes to see that Echo's hand had been grabbed by another robed figure, this one covered in weapons._

_Echo seemed disappointed that his fun had been disrupted, but the clear signs of fear could be observed in his eyes when the other agent released his hands, but continued staring at him forebodingly._

_Algos was surprised and suspicious when the figure offered a hand to help him up, refusing the help and jolting up, preparing himself for a fight._

_The hands reached up, and pulled back to hood to reveal a familiar pair of haunting obsidian eyes. Algos gasped in recognition, hardly believing his eyes._

_"Ares?"_

_"The one and only."_

_There, standing before him was his friend from so many years ago, his sole companion through the torturous experiments of his troubled youth. They'd spent years forming a bond only to be cruelly ripped apart, and now after all these years chance had brought them together again._

_The old friends closed in a tenuous embrace, half expecting that Ares would finish the work that Echo had started. And yet no blow came, no weapon was drawn._

_"Algos, it's good to see you after so many years. I apologize for Echo's impetuousness, he has a tendency to kill anything that moves. He refuses to learn that the true warrior, the one with honor kills only when he must, and then, not for pleasure."_

_"I see you haven't changed a bit. Always truisms about battle," Algos mused with a smile of remembrance. "But... you're with Hisaki? The terrorist organization that has been attacking GUN bases."_

_Are's smile faded, and a grave look came over his face. "Algos, tell me that you haven't gone over to their side. Please, tell me you haven't forgotten the unforgivable crimes which were committed against us both."_

_"No... I remember. For the longest time I shut it out, forgot everything. But after years of searching, I remember everything, every horrible detail."_

_"Then clearly, one must ask who is the terrorist here, and who is the freedom fighter," Ares countered._

_"What GUN did to us is unforgivable, but I will not punish innocents for their crimes. That would make us no better than our tormentors."_

_Ares lunged towards Algos, drawing his hand behind Algos' head and pulling his ear directly next to his lips._

_"Listen to me, Algos. The world is changing. GUN will not be in control for much longer. Hisaki is more powerful than in their wildest nightmares," he began, his voice no louder than a whisper. "In the end, you'll have to pick a side. Why would you choose to help those who scorn you? In Hisaki, you wouldn't be treated as a freak, you wouldn't be feared and hated. Your power would bring you respect, position, influence. You can be on my side - we can be together again, just like old times."_

_"I don't even know what Hisaki stands for..."_

_"We stand for change. Throwing off the shackles of GUN's tyranny and marching boldly into a new era of freedom and equality. A world where individuals are not valued for their sameness, but for their uniqueness, a world where you and I would've been treasured rather than tortured."_

_"At what cost?" Algos responded bitterly, his eyes narrowed._

_"Whatever cost. Sacrifice is necessary to achieve a better world."_

_"You would use the same justification for slaughter that my father used for torture? You learned nothing from your suffering," Algos growled fiercely, Ares breaking away from him with a look on his face that spoke of the deepest despair._

_"We should kill him," Echo pleaded, "He knows too much."_

_"Silence, Echo! While you were wasting your time fighting one who is not our enemy, I retrieved the Chaos Emeralds. Our mission here is accomplished. Thanks to Algos, we even have the DNA of yet another Incarnation. Your thirst for blood disturbs me," Ares said mockingly. Echo whimpered almost like a beaten dog, and scurried away._

_"Ares-"_

_"I'll take your answer as as 'maybe' for now. I hope next time we meet you've taken some time to rethink your priorities. Until next time, Algos," Ares responded, as he placed a quill he had taken from the back of Algos' neck while whispering in his ear in a cloth handkerchief._

_With that, the crimson colored hedgehog disappeared, leaving Algos standing dumbfounded in the midst of the destruction._

_End Flashback_

He had made a strong verbal stance to Ares' offer, but he had to admit that although he didn't much care for the idea of punishing thousands or millions of innocents for crimes they had not committed, there were a few gems in what Ares' had said about a society, a world that accepted those who were different, those normally branded as "freaks."

He had never known what it was like to live a normal life, to have friends or a family. Sonic and the others had given him just a small taste of what that was like, but he could hear the voice of cynicism ringing in the back of his mind...

_'Sure... they idolize Sonic and the others... for now... but how long before some power-hungry politician uses them as a scapegoat to fill the minds of the people with fear in order to justify their oppressive regime... How long before the soldiers are unleashed with their guns and riot shields and their dogs, sniffing you out, no place left to hide, your acts of valor and heroism branded as the misdeeds of a terrorist?'_

It was true that throughout history, there were countless examples of innocent people being singled out and made the target of unimaginable hatred and fear, and that this was only possible because they were different, because the darkest part of human nature always fears what it does not understand.

Was it possible that they really could build a society free from hatred and fear, free from all forms of oppression and violence?

* * *

A soft glow illuminated the ground, defeating the shadows cast by the large, overhanging tree branches. Knuckles sighed heavily at the new shrine on which the Master Emerald sat. Or rather, new to him.

Upon their arrival, it had appeared to be nothing more than another swamp buried in the jungles of Adabat, but once trekking through the foliage, he had learnt of a second shrine.

The crimson echidna glared at the cracked and crumbling steps, allowing the moss and plant life to grow through. Vines from the trees above hung lazily across the pillars housing the inner most portion of the shrine, giving it a very mystic feel. As much as he hated the idea of more than one of these places, he did his best to not let it bother him. Now wasn't the time.

However, the trees begun to rustle, and before the young echidna could turn to determine the source of the disturbance, a powerful jab collided with his leg. Knuckles grunted and stumbled to one knee, turning his head just in time to catch a glimpse of a black cloak before a scarlet blur collided against his jaw.

Knuckles tumbled across the jungle floor, only for another force to propel him to the left, directly through a cluster of frails trees. The wood snapped and creaked under the weight of the scarlet warrior, allowing him to roll through the debris and regain his footing.

"Where are the Chaos Emeralds?" Ares barked, wasting no time to get the information he needed. "I'd prefer not to get messy if it's unneeded."

"Like hell I'm going to tell one of you robed freaks!" Knuckles retorted viciously, the cloak of the Phoenix jumping to life around his body, igniting the vegetation on the ground like a match had been dropped. "Now I suggest you turn around and get out of here, before I get angry."

"Cute," the tactician quipped, then dashed towards Knuckles. The crimson hedgehog swung his arm out, to which a long sword solidified in his grasp.

Ares thrust the blade upwards, aiming to take the echidna's head off in a single strike, but to no avail. A burst of fiery energy flashed free from the fiery aura as the blade collided with Knuckles' protected forearm. The echidna then gripped the weapon in his other hand, snapped it as though it were glass, and delivered a bone crushing punch before the pieces had a chance to fall to the ground.

Dust, smoke and wind swirled together behind Ares as he bounced off of the ground and through the trees, causing branches and leaves to fall down onto the marsh. A crater peeled open from the hedgehog's impact, allowing him the opportunity to regain his stance and find his target. A flash of orange erupted in front of the hedgehog, to which he found Knuckles, now engulfed in a thick shroud of scarlet and orange energies.

"So what they said about you was true!" Ares sniggered, twin scimitars appearing in his hands. "You should prove a worthy opponent."

Without warning, Ares jumped towards the echidna, swiping a blade across the chest of his foe. The energy that hugged the Guardian's body split apart around the edge of the weapon, and before it had a chance to close back up, the hedgehog swept the other across Knuckles' chest. Blood seeped into the fiery aura of the Guardian, only to sizzle and evaporate as quickly as it had come.

"By the honor of my family, I'm not gonna lose," Knuckles barked, the aura that the Phoenix provided beginning to intensify to such a degree the ground became scorched beneath his feet. "So either you back down now, or I'll have to kill you."

"I guess we'll see which of us is the real warrior, because I never leave a mission unfinished."

The scimitars occupying Ares' hands disappeared, and in return an array of knives materialized between his fingers. The hedgehog jumped from his spot, evading a devastating strike from Knuckles' fist, which ripped apart the ground, forming a jagged trench, which swallowed everything around it. The echidna reeled around, his aura expanding outwards to incinerate the throwing knives raining around him as though they were nothing more than childrens toys.

Knuckles grunted, then punched the air in front of him, sending a wheel of flame through the air towards the battle tactician moving about the ancient grounds. Trees went up in a blaze at the touch of the attacks, quickly turning the battlefield into a hazardous forest fire. Then, from Ares cloak came an assortment of smaller knives, each tied to thin, metal thread. Attempting to burn up the annoyances around him, Knuckles grabbed at the twine, unaware of Ares diving from a toppling tree.

"This ends it!"

A long, metal spear suddenly sprung to existence between his fingers, directed towards Knuckles' head. The flaring aura around the echidna rushed around his body a split second before the spear impaled his flesh. A funnel of flame erupted along the length of the weapon, letting it fall to the ground in a heap of ash.

However, Ares slid along the ground, another weapon already at hand. Blood splashed out past the shroud of flame around the Guardian, the double edged sword slicing cleanly through Knuckles' shoulder, ripping apart his muscle and flesh in the process.

Once more, the aura of the Phoenix attempted to burn up the weapon, and it's bearer, but Ares had already released it in favor of the twin scimitars he had wielded previously. Knuckles growled, holding his open wound just long enough for it close up, but unfortunately leaving himself open to another attack.

Suddenly the Phoenix's cloak expanded at such a rapid rate, embers and rings of flame incinerating everything in a ten foot radius. Ares, however shot backwards, sliding along the ashes and debris, only to jump back up and land in front of the Master Emerald, where a small bag lay.

"Echo, let's get out of here!" Ares sneered, rubbing at the scorched flesh on his chest. "We got what we came here for!"

From the trees, the accomplice who had been in hiding jumped down into the opening. Knuckles growled, and flexed his hand open, which triggered a pulsing wave of electricity to race down his arm. Crackling sparks growled and buzzed to life, seeming almost to be screaming in anticipation of blood.

A blinding blue light pulsated up and down his arm, discharging tiny sparks to the ground before gathering at the palm of his hand. A colossal, Earth-shattering boom filled the air.

**"Grand Raikou!"** Knuckles bellowed in eerie unison with the Phoenix, as he spun in a circle to create momentum, before releasing the thunderous bolt at his rapidly approaching foe.

Echo's eyes narrowed slightly as he flew forward, clapping his hands in front of him powerfully to create a visible shockwave of sound, rolling over the ground and throwing up tiny clumps of dirt in its wake.

The two conflicting energies clashed together in a swirling vortex between the two combatants, sparks swirling and flying off in random directions to singe leaves and leave scorch marks in tree trunks. For a moment, it seemed as if the electrical attack would fizzle and die, but suddenly, it spat out of the other end of the vortex, screaming towards Echo.

Piercing his body at first with the precision of an arrow, his face distorted into a visage of unimaginable agony for a split second before melting suddenly into a pile of ash. The crackling bolt of raw power continued flying, bolts of searing hot energy shooting away from the attack, incinerating the plant life they touched. Ares grunted, having witnessed his comrade being vaporized a split second ago, which also left him open to the rogue lance of light.

Blood spilled across the ground, the crackling and thunderous howls of the Raikou echoing across the jungle for but a moment, until Ares' screams took advantage of all sound. Dropping the small bag of Chaos Emeralds on the stone foundation of the mysterious shrine, scarlet liquid began to pool at his feet, despite his hand being cupped over the stump his right arm had now become. The limb that once been useful, had now been turned into a pile of ash amidst his spilt blood.

Spite filled the God of War's eyes, as he turned them towards Knuckles with utmost fury. The holder of the Phoenix suddenly appeared in front of the battle torn hedgehog, another sizzling bolt of electricity ready to deal the same fate Echo had met.

"Now it's your turn," Knuckles sneered, inching the attack closer to Ares. However to his surprise, the God of War suddenly began snickering, which soon turned to an all out laughter of glee.

"Not so fast, Guardian," Ares taunted, his dark, haunting eyes staring up at Knuckles. "If you kill me, you'll set off the bombs I have strapped to the girl who holds the Griffon. The trigger is adjusted to go off if my heart stops beating, or if it's removed from my body. If you kill me, you kill her. So, you can let me escape with these emeralds. The trigger will be out of range and therefore be nonfunctional, allowing her to live. Which will it be?"

Suddenly, the Phoenix's cloak retreated like a flame being snuffed out in the night. The attack in his hand disappeared, and without the protection of the Second Stage, his glove ripped apart from the heat. Growling, the echidna watched as his opponent heaved himself to his feet.

"Smart move... you'll find her ten miles from here. I'm sure you'll hear her screams," Ares explained with a smirk. "This isn't over, echidna. Mark my words."

Then, before Ares could escape through a portal, Knuckles had already left to find his comrade.

* * *

Materializing in a flash, their bodies wrapped in the warm, white light of Chaos Control, Knuckles and Tikal shook off the disorienting effect the teleportation can have, and found themselves standing directly in front of Sonic and the others.

They looked at each other in mild surprise for a moment, blinking blankly at what appeared to each of them to be the sudden appearance of the other. Tails was the first to recover from the shock of seeing the two suddenly appear on the island, and stepped forward pensively.

"You guys decided to come back to Angel Island?" he asked hopefully, noting that they looked equally dejected. "What happened to you two?"

"It would seem Hisaki knew about the location of the Master Emerald..." Tikal responded, a grave feeling coming about her. "Though they didn't manage to get it, they did take the remaining Chaos Emeralds from us."

Anger seemed to radiate from Sonic's being, becoming absolutely fed up with their luck as of late. The blue hero sat down on a log, his hands tightening into clenched fists. "I guess we just have to wait for GUN to give us orders on what to do next..."

Darting his attention to his longtime comrade, Knuckles seemed to be at a loss of words - which would be a rare occasion. "Since when do we wait for the military's orders? We don't work for them!"

"As of...about, two hours ago, we do," Rouge responded quietly, trying to evade the echidna's inevitable overflow of anger.

"Why would you guys do that?!" the Echidna shouted, taking a step towards the bearer of the Basilisk. "Was this your idea!"

"Hey simmer down, Big Guy," Chaos replied smoothly, stepping in between the treasure hunters to push Knuckles away. "I made the call. With the way things are goin' we didn't need another enemy. So why not expand our allies, see?"

"If Hisaki has five of the emeralds... that means they haven't gotten the two GUN stores on Prison Island," Rouge exclaimed with a beam of hope in her words. "Why don't we inform the Commander of their latest attack and go there to secure them? If we don't get there, then we know for sure those Hisaki goons will."

"This may be our last chance," Sonic remarked, standing tall from his seated position. "Let's find those Emeralds, and turn this battle around!" The others nodded in agreement, their faces caught in the glow of an ember of hope.

* * *

Ares stalked into the throne room, throwing off his robe to reveal a rust red chest rising and falling with heaving pants. His body was covered in scorch marks and his right arm was nothing but a smoldering stump with blood and bits of ash dripping from it periodically. A few loitering Hisaki members in the grand hall looked at him in shock, knowing that few could hope to even scratch the body or come close to matching the battle prowess of the self-proclaimed god of war.

Paying no attention to their hushed whispers of doubt, Ares ascended hastily to the foot of the throne, where the white robed figure reclined ominously, surveying all he saw with the gaze of lordship.

"My kind and merciful lord, I have retrieved the Chaos Emeralds as you requested," Ares gasped over the throbbing pain, clutching his wounds with his one remaining arm as his obsidian eyes stared blankly at the white robed figure, their pupils dilated in shock.

"Ares, one of my most worthy disciples. Your wounds shall not be in vain, by your sacrifice, you will surely find salvation," the seated figure warmly intoned, barely lifting his hand to accept the glimmering Chaos Emeralds from the bowing warrior, "Rejoice, my brethren. The time is close at hand where we will no longer walk veiled in shadow, but will reveal ourselves to the world and shine with resplendent glory."

At his words, several robed Hisaki members had gravitated towards the stairs at the base of the throne, staring up towards their leader. He motioned gently with his hands, levitating the four Chaos Emeralds they'd previously recovered until they orbited around him like gleaming crystal planets.

"You have all performed excellently, and will surely reap your just reward. These gems are but a sliver of the power I shall possess once our plans come to fruition."

He began to pace towards one of the dozen robed figures standing in a semi-circle around him, but the fiend seemed petrified by his gaze.

Reaching him, he clasped his large, warm hands inside the sleeves of the agent, around his arms, without so much as asking permission or telling him why.

"Just like you, I shall heal the afflictions of the world," he began grandly, as the energy of the Chaos Emeralds began to flow into him, running along his arms into the hooded figure he had grasped, "until all know the supreme joy of our new order."

Releasing his hold on the other figure who gasped slightly, he began to slowly pace around the center of the semi-circle.

"And now... we initiate the next phase of our plan. You all know what to do."

* * *

**And now, as a bonus for waiting patiently for so long, a Sneak Preview from Part 2 of Crimson Twilight**

A deceptively placid sky melted into the eternal sapphire sea, the great blue expanse interrupted by nothing but a few lazily circling gulls. Stretching as far as the eye could see from the distant shore, a titanic concrete bridge seemed to scrape at the horizon like a stony finger painting the heavens.

A few of Soleanna's guards lounged tiredly in the watch tower near the end of the bridge, periodically adjusting their bodies to remain within the patches of shade that shielded them from the blazing noonday sun. A wholly inadequate fan listed weakly back and forth on the marble desktop, almost seeming to be straining feebly against the indomitable power of the oppressive heat.

It was one of those moments in which time seemed to have dissolved in the midst of eternity and have become utterly meaningless. One of the soldiers peered out of the window less in expectation of finding something and more in boredom.

And yet, flickering on the horizon like a devilish mirage, a single speck of ivory crept into the edge of his vision. He did a double take, hardly believing that anything in the world could disturb the heavy tranquility of this moment, as if anything that dared approach would be forced to the ground by an overwhelming pressure.

Wiping his eyes quickly in doubt, he fumbled in his burlap sack of a pair of binoculars, squinting into them against the blinding sunlight.

"Uh... Captain... you're gonna want to come take a look at this," he choked boyishly, his voice cracking as he spoke.

"Pearson, will you shut the hell up? I don't give a damn if you occupy yourself with seagulls, but I for one would like to just relax."

Keeping his vision trained on the slowly approaching figure so as to be sure he was not mistaken, Pearson spoke again with somewhat more confidence, although the shadow of fear still danced in his throat.

"Sir, somebody is on the bridge... They look like... they're wrapped in this white capey thing."

It was impossible that Private Pearson had not been exposed to the news reports detailing the attacks of the terrorist organization Hisaki, that he had not seen their distinctive cloaks in the course of the journalistic coverage. Rather, his mind was still in the stage of denial after seeing the visage of his own doom so clearly prophesied in the flutter of the approaching fiend's cloak.

"Let me see that!" the captain barked, snatching the binoculars from his inferior.

A moment of total and complete void filled the air and washed over the two men, as the captain's face lost its pallor and went white with fear. In an instant, they knew they had both seen the same thing, and that very soon, they would be dead.

"My God..."

As he continued staring blankly, Pearson had recovered somewhat and picked up the phone.

"Sir... we've got a situation on our hands..." he paused as the other person spoke for a brief moment before loudly interrupting, "with all due respect sir, by the time I've explained this completely, there won't be anything left to save. We need immediate backup, all available forces must converge on the Memorial Bridge ASAP."

Slamming the phone down on the receiver, the private returned to his captain, who had broken out in a cold sweat.

"Sir, reinforcements are on their way," he chirped with a note of cautious optimism.

"That's good- good, good, good, God, golly, gopher, gee!" he raved, interspersing his words with short, hollow laughs.

"Sir... are you alright?" Pearson asked in concern, glancing down at the cloaked figure creeping ever closer to their tower.

"Alright? Alright? I'm fantastic! Never been better! Best, better, been, bare!" he rejoined madly, before gaining a final moment of lucidity amidst the madness, "Pearson..."

"Yes, Captain?" he replied sadly, as the older soldier slumped to the ground helplessly.

"This... is the end."

No sooner had the words issued forth carried from his lips on the stream of his breath than that breath ceased eternally, forever ended by the weight of a thousand tons of rock collapsed down upon him. The tower crumbled like nothing but sand, disappearing into oblivion in a second.

"With your death may you find forgiveness for your many sins, I send you onwards to find peace," the white cloaked figure spoke solemnly to the ruins of the guard tower, knowing it had been occupied when he destroyed it.

In the distance, rising up from the city like a hoard of furiously buzzing locusts, a black cloud of helicopters roared to life, screaming towards him like the avenging Valkyries of legend. "It is truly remarkable, the resistance that is given to the truth," he growls, raising his hands to his sides in a gentle motion like the calm waters far beneath him.

Before they were even in range, the soaring metal contraptions began wildly spraying hot lead at the surface of the bridge, tearing into even the thick, steel reinforced concrete. Standing immobile like a statue, he allowed himself the pleasure of a slight smirk as the helicopters came ever closer.

"You bring doom upon yourselves."

With that he clenched his fists as the stream of bullets reached him, surrounding himself in a vortex of force that created a hurricane of bullets, with him standing unaffected in the eye. The steady rain of bullets continued to fly mercilessly towards him, but as they did, he merely allowed those previously held aloft in his grip fall harmlessly to the ground, littering it in a carpet of lead.

"Come now, surely you can do better than that?" he cackled over the roaring of the engines and the screaming of the bullets, "What point was there in even getting up this morning if there would be no challenge?"

Almost as if in response, several of the strafing helicopters released rockets towards him, frantically attempting to break through his defenses.

As if these high explosive missiles were nothing more than a baseball to be caught and hurled back, he calmly motioned with his hands in a smooth movement as the rockets approached him, guiding them ever so gently and calmly back into the waiting arms of those who had launched them.

A cheerful little explosion signified that they had caught the rocket, as a festive plume of black smoke swirled upwards from the fuselages of a dozen helicopters, sending them spinning merrily into the frothy depths of the sea.

"Pathetic. You build your weapons much stronger than you build the things supposed to resist attack. This is the utmost of your moral depravity, highly skilled in taking life and utterly worthless at preserving it."

Descending from the fleet of helicopters that were beginning to retreat after this impressive display by the mysterious hooded figure, a single helicopter landed on the bridge a short distance in front of him, as he folded his hands calmly behind his back.

The metal door on the side of the gunship slid open to reveal Sonic, Knuckles, and Silver. Sonic turned to the pilot, his voice hoarse with yelling over the sound of the whirling rotor.

"Tell them to begin evacuation, this is a very densely populated city and we need to reduce collateral damage," he shouted before the three of them dropped to the ground and the last helicopter flew fearfully away from the lone figure.

"So... you've come at last."

* * *

"You have fought this long... come this far... just to crumble at my feet," the hooded figure spoke, embers crackling and darting up into the air behind him. "Is it evident now that whatever you attempt, is but a waste of your time?"

Weak, exhausted eyes struggled to remain open amidst the dried blood and sweat. Sonic struggled to his feet, using every remaining bit of power in his body to defy his oppressor.

"What's the meaning of all this...?!" Sonic shouted, a ferocious cloaking of the Chimera's energy suddenly leaping to life around his body. "Who the hell are you?!"

"My identity does not matter, Sonic." The god-like being walked towards the infuriated hedgehog, debris and droplets of water hovering and gathering around his body with each step taken. "You and I, we're of the same breed. My motive for this war is of no consequence. Be it, religion, ideology, resources, love...or a whim. All of this... is reason enough for a war in the minds of the fallen. This is why it will never cease to exist... because our nature is to pursue power... and thus create strife. I've come to end that cycle of hatred."

"We are no different. We act according to our own sense of justice. We are both but men, driven to seek vengeance under the guise of the banner of justice. However... if there is justice in vengeance, then justice will breed but more vengeance... this will forge more links in a chain of hatred. I bring you peace."

Suddenly the air itself twisted, causing the debris to rise up from their resting places on the ground. Sonic gasped with horror, watching as a ring of rubble, dirt and anything else caught by the figure's attack swirled around him. The godly being waltzed forth, his right arm stretched outwards lazily, bearing the golden mark on his palm, displaying the power he possessed.

The earth cracked and shuddered, chunks of concrete and rock lifted high above the golden cloaked hero. Terrified green eyes danced across the mallets hanging above his head, then zipped forwards in a burst of blue, avoiding the crash of tons of debris falling to the ground behind him.

Sonic swung his fist forwards, the Chimera's cloak twisting around his hand. The white cloak of the oppressor flapped violently in the wake of the clashing power, and as Sonic entered the invisible barrier holding the debris around the godly being, the blue hero shot back through the air.

A flash of light engulfed the destruction of the city, then darkness immediately washed over the buildings. Buildings crumbled into dust, and spiraled up into the sky. The ground shook and quivered, the trees that had been rooted in the earth for so long floating upwards as well. Everything was beginning to crumble into dust, then into nothingness.

"This is but the beginning of the end... I will bring you all solace."

* * *

Authors Notes:

Sorry about the incredibly long wait for this chapter. Hopefully you all enjoy the little sneak peak included at the end! It's there as purely compensation for the long wait I've made all you wonderful fans endure! Hopefully I'm forgiven! Expect the next chapter to come sooner than this one!

~ Myz


	20. Rose Returns

**Chapter 20 - Rose Returns**

A dull and pasty flickering grey light filled the small room in which Blaze lay, her wrists and feet both bound tightly with matte black shackles. Her hair dangled across her face messily, the humidity of the island causing the room to feel tacky and sticky. She had fought and struggled to escape, for hours on end, only to find her mastery of fire to be of no use and her wrists and ankles bruised after many attempts.

In fact, she had come to learn, rather unpleasantly, that she could no longer use her once reliable powers. She glared up at the buzzing fluorescent bulbs, and at the single fly buzzing around the bulb, her amber eyes seemingly pale and hollow in the glare of the greyish light.

Two figures then approached the cell, their cloaks wavering ever so briefly from their movements, like a burning flame had surrounded them. Immediately she felt an intense pressure move around her, as if the very presence of the man in the white and gold cloak intensified the air itself. Staring quietly at the duo, she then returned her gaze sullenly to her torn and wet boots.

"Ah, Princess Blaze," the Fatherly figure greeted warmly, crouching in front of the bars to allow her to see his eerily gleaming emerald eyes. "I trust you have come to the realization you're no longer able to use your affinity with the joyful flames you so much rely on?"

"What did you do to me, you piece of shit?!" Blaze scowled venomously, darting her attention towards the man who watched her so calmly.

"It's nothing more than an incentive for you, my child." The figure stood up, clasping his hands behind his back gently. "You see, I've noticed a great... source of untapped potential within you, an inferno that has been made to languish uselessly for far too long. You guide fire with such unrelenting ferocity and control, such effortless beauty. You're capable of so much more, and I sense you have suffered a life of torture due to the world's innumerable sins. Truly, your flames may be the justice which will purge the world."

Blaze watched him silently, her anger but a sizzling ember flickering in her soul. She watched him pace towards the entrance to her prison cell, then back again, seemingly contemplating on his words.

"You see... I can free you from the treachery this world has created. I am the only one able to pluck you from the darkness that this civilization has been plunged into. Join Hisaki, unite with our cause, and you will find salvation through our goal."

Gasping at the offer, the young princess seemed to be taken off guard. A lump quickly found itself lodged in her throat, her words turning into nothing but muffled sounds. "Is that a joke?" she retorted furiously, lunging at the bars of the prison cell. "You have the audacity to bring danger to my friends, to cause all this pain, and now you're asking me to join you?"

"Sadly... no great cause is without sacrifice, child."

The shackles containing her hands suddenly began sparking, allowing small embers to flicker upwards from the creaking material. Blaze quickly ripped one hand free, a flaming hand jutting through the bars to grasp at the god-like man. However, as quickly as she had struck, the figure clad in black moved in front of his leader, snatching the lavender feline's hand. A gust of wind burst past the Hisaki duo, blowing their cloaks around.

Then, Blaze grew wide eyed, staring up into the hood of her oppressor. "You!" She gasped in surprise.

Without so much as a warning, the black hooded figure tightened another pair of the shackles to her wrists, and disappeared up the dank staircase. "Consider my offer, my dear." The man clad in white remarked calmly, then too disappeared.

* * *

Gathering around one another, the group of ready heroes listened intently for the voice to answer on the other side of the communicator. It had been ten, long seconds since the voice of the GUN Commander had cut out from the other side after they had asked him about the location of the Chaos Emeralds. Their breaths were held, hoping and praying for confirmation to leave to Prison Island's security complex, where the remaining emeralds were held.

"If you insist," he responded finally. "I'll have soldiers meet you there, then escort you to the holding chamber where the emerald's are being stored."

A feeling of relief washed across the group of heroes, a feeling that had been so long forgotten it felt alien. But, at the same time, they accepted it completely. Grinning wide, like he had been unable to do for so long, Sonic jumped back from the close collection of his friends, and pumped a fist into his palm.

"Now we're getting somewhere, guys!" He exclaimed with enthusiasm, trying to up the spirits of his comrades. "Tails, fire up the Tornado and let's get out of here!"

Tapping in a few convenient commands into the watch strapped to his wrist, Tails watched the sky. From the clouds, the brilliant blue paint of the Tornado gleamed against the sunlight, it's engines roaring in the quiet sky of the jungle. The trees and shrubs surrounding the heroes swayed in front of the the small biplane's uncannily powerful engine.

"Can we really fit in that small craft?" Tikal asked, feeling slightly uneasy by looking at the machine. "It doesn't look like it'll be enough to take us all."

"No worries, Tikal," Tails remarked, tapping another button on his watch. " I've made sure to add extra seating since we tend to use the Tornado a lot lately."

The heroes watched quietly as the plane seemed to go through a phase of metamorphosis. It's wings folded back slightly, taking the look of a fighter jet, while the nose of the plan dipped down and slid forwards, allowing for two rows of dual passenger seats to pop in behind the cockpit. With the new wider body of the Tornado revealed, Sonic grinned and slapped his younger brothers back.

"Good job, bud!" Sonic complimented, then quickly jumped to the wing of the craft, where he usually rode. "You guys ready?"

* * *

Their trek across the ocean to the lonely and desolate island was swift with the Tornado. The clouds swirled around the plane like the vortex it was named after as it descended down to the beach, the glistening white sands of the Prison Complex making it seem much more welcoming than it actually was. Sonic's green eyes locked down onto the thick jungle making up a majority of the island, recounting the memories of his battle with Shadow before the island self destructed.

"It's amazing how quickly nature repairs itself," Rouge stated in awe. "Last time we were here, Doctor Eggman's bomb ripped it all apart. It's as if nothing happened..."

Against her will, her thoughts floated to that day years before. She remembered the feeling of defeat and hopelessness at having found the Chaos Emeralds only to become trapped like a fly in the vault. This was the same feeling that had overcome their group lately, but her in particular, the sinking feeling that their time was running out.

And yet she had not died that time. Appearing from nowhere like a phantom, Shadow had whisked her away at the moment before the destruction, an uncharacteristically heroic act for the dark hedgehog who, at the time, had been bent on the Earth's destruction. It was in times like these where she begun to miss Shadow that much more. Times where the memories of her former comrade were brought back into her mind like water from a broken faucet, creeping, dripping.

The Tornado wavered in the air gently, tugging Rouge from her memories. It's landing gear extended down from it's underbelly, while it's speed begun to decrease. Tails watched the ground below his plane, gently easing it's nose upwards just before the small wheels skid along the warm sand. A two smaller size parachutes shot out behind it to aid in stopping on the tricky and unyielding terrain, and before long, the aircraft had come to a sliding halt on the beach.

Before long, everyone had piled out of the Tornado, some to stretch their legs and walk - like Sonic, who had taken off for a quick jog down the beach. Sand and dirt shot up behind his sneakers, creating a plume of dust to cover up his tracks. However, something being nipped by the waves caught his eyes. It was a person, he couldn't tell who from the distance, but he could see their tattered and wet clothing.

Sonic's green eyes widened upon realizing who was lying in the sand. Hope ignited in his chest like an inferno, and using that feeling as a fuel, the blue blur rocketed towards the unconscious figure before him.

Throwing his cares away, Sonic dove to his knees mid run. Sand and water parted around him as he slid towards the pink hedgehog, and immediately he scooped her up to get a look at her. His worried eyes darted across her face, trying desperately to see if she was alive. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed her chest rise slightly, then fall. Tears began to gather at his eyes, only to fall as quick as they come. Burying his head into her neck line, he let his joy simply overwhelm him.

* * *

Nurses bustled in and out of the small, white hospital room, their shoes clicking against the tile on the floor, creating a steady rhythm of footsteps. Green eyes watched curiously down at the pink hedgehog lying unconscious in the bed, her body wrapped up with bandages. One nurse eased her way past the trio, delicately preparing and inserting an IV into Amy's wrist.

"Think she'll be okay, Miss?" Sonic asked, his pleading eyes locked onto the Nurse, as if begging for her to say yes.

"She seems to be in good condition. Her vital signs are all normal, anyway. Just give her a chance to come to," the Nurse responded, her voice pronouncing each word with such eloquence it surprised Sonic. "Do you three need anything before I leave to get the Doctor?"

"No worries, tutz," Chaos remarked with a smirk and a complimentary wink. "I just need you."

Blushing heavily, the young nurse hurried out of the room, taking the tray of supplies with her. Sonic and Tails took a seat on the chairs beside their comrade's bed, watching her quietly, each of them unsure of what to say.

The unconscious pink hedgehog released a small moan, hushing everyone in the room with uncharacteristic power. Sonic's jade green eyes stared at her bruised form in deep contemplation, a gentle moisture beginning to accumulate at their edges like morning dew. Quickly wiping it away before Chaos or the others could notice, he clutched her fallen hair band tightly in his grasp, doing his best not to break down at seeing her in this condition.

"So what's next, Scrawny?" the God of Destruction's voice aroused Sonic from his trance-like state, as he crossed his muscular arms gently over his chest. "We gotta go get them Emeralds, don't we?"

"You two go on ahead... I'm not leaving her side... I gotta be sure she's okay," the blue hero replied slowly, his voice low. "Besides... I need to... apologize to her."

"Sonic, I can stay here if you want," Tails interjected, motioning towards himself, "This facility is heavily guarded by GUN, but if it will make you feel better, I can

stay here to keep an eye on Amy."

"...No... I can't leave her like this," he seemed to say more to the softly exhaling girl in the hospital bed than his adopted younger brother, "It's my fault this happened... now I have to make it right," he explained, recalling that the reason they'd had to separate into two groups in Eruthros was due to the unbridled rage he'd expressed in the form of the Dark Super Form after Sarx had wounded Amy in their battle in the tower.

"There will be time for you to patch things up with Flower later," Chaos suggested in an oddly contemplative way, "But at least for right now, the best way to make things right is to make sure those cross-dressing creeps at Hisaki don't get their hands on the last two emeralds. You wanna really make things right, we can't sit around waiting for her to wake up," he growled slightly, before grinning in anticipation.

"You and me, we've had our fights in the past. But this isn't like you at all... this isn't the Sonic I love to compete with, who never backs down from a challenge. That Sonic would never sit around moping because he screwed up. So why don't we go bust in some skulls of those Hisaki freaks and get us a nice plate of piping hot vengeance."

His characteristic grin finding its way slowly back onto his face, Sonic patted Chaos dismissively before stretching his legs.

"That sounds nice, but if we're going to beat Hisaki to those emeralds, we're going to have to move fast. Really fast. That's my specialty," he answered, "No offense, but you're more of a power player."

"Yeah, so what?" Chaos asked, divided between suspicion and pride at the sudden compliment.

"Every time we try to fight Hisaki, we just end up on the run, and I'm starting to think that's been their plan all along - forcing us into fighting them. But we've been doing it blind and outmatched, we don't even know what we're dealing with. So I'm not planning on outfighting them, I'm planning on outrunning them. Once I've got those two emeralds, they'll have to catch me if they want them," he explained while mock running in place, "But I want you here to protect Amy. We need to use each of our strengths to their greatest advantage."

He seemed to realize that his explanation of their battle strategy had come off sounding all-too intelligent compared to his practiced persona of casual indifference towards intellectual matters, he coughed and added a, "or whatever."

"Fair enough, Scrawny. Me and short stuff will stay here while you go after those last two emeralds with the others," Chaos smirked, glad to see the change in his team-mate's mood.

"You didn't think you could get away from me that easily, did you?" a wry voice interrupted them from the doorway, revealing a sand colored hedgehog with piercingly blue eyes.

"Algos? What are you doing here? I thought you were back on your rampage again?" Sonic replied in slight suspicion, however noting that the newcomer did not seem to be acting in a threatening manner.

"Well... that's not entirely true, but not entirely false either. Let's just say... I found some answers," he replied carefully, knowing that he had not given them a great multitude of reasons to trust him, "and... I want to help you."

* * *

Authors Notes: Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing and supporting my return from the dead. It's been so great to have all of the support and thoughtful comments of the fans to help motivate me to continue this story.

Also, thank you all for sticking around as much as you have lately. The last few chapters have been kind of slow, and I won't lie, haven't been the most fun to do. With the coming of chapter 21 and beyond, things will really begin to heat up, and I can't wait for you all to see what's in store! Chapter 21 will be updated by next weekend, and after that, I will be taking a break until January to get things in order for Part 2 of Crimson Twilight! Hope to see you all there!


	21. Darkness Reborn

**Chapter 21- Darkness Reborn**

Peering down through the window of the GUN Falcon, Algos sighed at the sight of the once pristine jungle. Rain forest teeming with life was interrupted periodically by deep, muddy ruts that tore through the landscape like scars on the Earth's surface, while massive soulless machines continued to clear away wide swaths of forest. Toxic chemicals poured out of drain pipes into the rivers, giving them a distinctive yellowish hue, threatening to kill any creature that would quench their thirst with it.

"You know, I'm beginning to remember why I never liked GUN very much," Algos growled to himself, his old distrust of the organization quick to resurface and slow to fade.

"Well, like it or not guys, we're with them now, and we have a job to do. We may not like their methods, but they protect people from criminals like Hisaki," Rouge advocated, trying to keep her eyes facing forward to avoid seeing the devastation below.

Algos however glanced down at Sonic, who was keeping pace with the helicopter on the ground below. Every so often, his form would be obscured by the twisting jungle, or he would vault over a stony obstruction, but despite these impediments, he never faltered in keeping up with the huge aircraft.

"We'll soon arrive at the top secret storage facility. It's been left relatively unguarded so as not to draw attention to it after the fiasco where three Chaos Emeralds were stolen from the main vault a few years ago," the pilot yelled back at them over the sound of the spinning rotors, conveniently leaving out that it was Rouge herself who had stolen them.

Looking down, they noticed a set of structures they were quickly approaching, what appeared to be ancient ruins partially concealed within the jungle. Stone spires with elaborate carvings worn down by the decay of time reached upwards out of the mist and foliage like fingers clawing at the sky, as a massive pyramid covered in moss and vines dominated everything around it.

"We can't land in the jungle or we'll get caught in the tree cover. I'm going to set you down in a clearing a short distance from the temple. The vault is hidden beneath it. Heh, nobody would dare destroy such a priceless architectural relic."

Just as the pilot said in his thick Maritime accent, the aircraft began to decelerate, until they were hovering over a wide grass clearing with the temple visible in the distance. Standing in the clearing and waiting for them were Tikal and Knuckles, by the looks on their faces already acquainted with the ancient site.

The wings on the jet slid upwards, the rotors build into its wings slowing gradually as the door in its side slid open. The three heroes disembarked from the side of the craft, joining their friends in the grassy field. A dozen or so GUN soldiers stood a little ways away from them in a semicircle, a few of them talking into radios mounted to their chests.

Birds squawked as a blue streak weaved through the thick forest surrounding the clearing. Vines and foliage were dispersed every which way when Sonic burst through into the clearing. A cloud of dust swept through the waiting soldiers, causing them to shield their eyes, expressions of annoyance finding it's way on all the men's faces.

"So, are we gonna get moving or what?" Sonic commented, his toe tapping on the ground like a quiet heart beat.

"Rouge is confirming the coordinates from the military Commander, then the Guardian and I will lead you all to the temple." The Griffon's incarnation turned towards the jungle, biting her lip gently. "Something here is... unnerving. I can't quite determine what, but we'd best be careful."

"What do you mean?" the crimson guardian to her left questioned. "Is it those robed freaks as usual?"

Tikal shook her head and sighed, trying to dismiss the topic from her mind. "I'm not sure... I just feel a very... familiar presence in the area. I don't quite have the same abilities to determine what it is like Lord Chaos, but it feels very.._.cold_."

"Hey, no worries," Sonic assured while setting his hand on her shoulder. "It looks like Rouge is ready, so why don't we get those Emeralds?" 

* * *

A mutual silence had found it's way among the group. The constant footsteps marching through the marsh seemed to fade in with the wildlife that surrounded them, creating a plain and dull mixture of sound. Sonic curiously watched the animals in the trees, paying no attention to the soldiers mumbling behind him. Remarks about the blue blur's inability to protect, and his constant whiny behaviour always managed to break through his trance, though. Each small comment seemed to irk Sonic, but, he didn't let it show.

He knew that now wasn't the time to be butting heads with the military. As much as he hated to be in allegiance with them, he also realized they were a major benefit to their cause right now.

Sonic groaned and tapped his shoes against the trunk of a crooked tree, trying to free his sneakers of any caked on mud he may have collected. Soldiers trudged past him as he did so, some glaring at him, while others looked at him in fear.

Ignoring their gazes, the blue hero took up the rear of the group, becoming lost in his thoughts once more. He wondered if Shadow had ever been feared when he was working with GUN. Sonic sighed to himself, regretting bringing the topic of his lost comrade up in his mind.

_Flashback_

_"Have I gotten any stronger by staying with you? Was I able to kill my brother when he came to Angel Island?" the ultimate life form asked so suddenly and in such impassiveness, that it caught Sonic off guard._

_"No. Instead I was humiliated. Attachments have held me back from my destiny for too long..." he continued slowly, his hand shooting out and grabbing Sonic by the fur just below his neck, drawing him closer to his face._

_"...And now I'm going to cut them all."_

* * *

_After a brief moment of heavy silence, Sonic voiced his thoughts, "You're really serious, aren't you?"_

_Shadow hesitated, his smirk disappearing, "Of course I am, you wouldn't stand down."_

_"How could I?" Sonic demanded furiously, swiping his hand through the heavy, tension-filled air, "You're trying to betray me and everyone else! Don't you know G.U.N. will list you as a rogue agent?"_

_Shadow's black eyes studied Sonic's rage-infected form, his gaze hardening, "How could I betray something I was never a part of?"_

_Those words, spoken in such a cold and emotionless tone, hit the blue hedgehog like a ton of bricks. He wasn't a part of them, a part of their circle of friends? How could Shadow actually say these things to his face?_

_"Bullshit," the cerulean hero spat at his ebony counterpart, taking a step forward, "You saved the world with me all the time, how could you not be a part of our friendship?"_

_"It was for my own convenience," Shadow replied without missing the beat of the heated conversation, "I merely helped you on a whim."_

_End Flashback_

The day he had tried so hard to bring his friend home. The day so long ago that everything suddenly crumbled down around Sonic. The fact that a friend, who had been in their midst for so long, suddenly leaving for a goal so selfish truly caught them off guard. So much had changed since then. Nothing had been left the way it should be.

Sonic turned his attention to Rouge up ahead, a sudden feeling of guilt filling him. He wondered how she felt. Did she hold some form of grudge deep down because of his inability to bring their friend home? Did she hate him for not succeeding, and having allowed him to be killed? Her reaction after explaining the discovery in Eruthros had been heartbreaking. Every single hope she had held onto that Shadow was truly alive, suddenly blew up in her face, and Sonic felt at fault.

'Sorry, Rouge,' Sonic thought to himself with a sigh, then turned his attention to the gap in the jungle ahead. He could see the temple they were on their way to peaking above the trees, it's historic architecture beginning to feel out of the ordinary and alien to it's surroundings.

Something about this place seemed to get to him. He felt like a cloud of darkness lingered all around them. It was beginning to feel like a living, breathing monster watching and waiting to devour them all. At this point, though, he didn't expect much of a happy ending.

* * *

Glancing wordlessly at the two echidna's leading them, Sonic could see in both their eyes that they had approached the secret storage vault where the Chaos Emeralds were being kept. The squad of GUN soldiers who had come with them stood at posts firmly in the large outer room, watching the heroes carefully.

They had been sent here merely to observe the pickup, to ensure nothing went wrong, but none of them had the proper security clearance to just go waltzing into the vault, and even the access the heroes had been given was highly... irregular.

The commanding officer in charge of the platoon faced Sonic, as he approached a keypad mounted beside a metal door.

"We'll be waiting out here in case anything goes wrong, and be monitoring radio and energy frequencies the whole time. Just let us know if you require assistance," he said gruffly, before punching a passcode into the keypad with thick, knobby fingers that comically resembled undercooked sausages.

"You keep this door open for me, will ya?" Sonic replied, stretching his legs in a demonstrative way, "as soon as we have those Emeralds, I'm planning on getting them out of here as fast as I can!"

Receiving nothing more than a nod and an unenthusiastic eyebrow raise from the stocky soldier, he and the others ventured into the dark recesses of the vault tunnels. As they walked carefully away from the portal of illumination that was the vault door, Tikal raised a hand aloft, allowing a small orb of light to blossom in her palm.

Thin white rays shimmered out from its surface, casting dancing shadows on the stone walls, playing off of the ridges and valleys carved into them thousands of years before.

"The carvings in this temple are exquisite," Rouge gasped in awe, trailing her fingertips lightly over the intricately detailed geometric patterns, "What... was this a temple of your people?"

She glanced towards Knuckles and Tikal, and both of them had an expression the flickering light just barely managed to reveal. For a moment, there was expectation of that very question, almost as if they'd known someone might ask it, then a somewhat regretful expression.

"No. This temple belongs to a civilization far older than that of even the echidnas," Tikal began carefully, "an ancient, mysterious people who disappeared long before our time. The only thing we know for certain is that they revered the spirit of the Cerberus."

Inexplicably, uttering even the euphemistic name for their departed companion caused an oppressive silence to fall over the dimly lit hallway. Tikal fidgeted uncomfortably, somehow blaming herself for the awkward silence.

Ahead of them, the hallway opened slowly into a massive central chamber, the walls covered in sprawling mosaic artwork. The stories of untold battles of countless ages before stood etched into immortality on the vaulted stone walls as far up as the eye could see.

Tikal stopped abruptly, standing before a carving that depicted a fearsome battle, ancient letters inscribed into the border. Tracing her finger over the ferocious looking Cerberus set in stone, she read from the border slowly, her voice a mixture of reverence and fear.

"The dark one must walk the path of chaos, he must harness it and master it lest it ravage the world. He is the one that bends the darkness to his will, that controls the chaos."

Tendrils of darkness seemed to trail and bend off of the body of the Cerberus. To the right of the depicted Incarnation stood an indescribable mass of evil, it's presence seemingly the cause of all the corpses in the depiction. Arms of shadow stretched away from the central mass, while two glaring rubies acted as eyes for the beast on the wall.

"The dark one fell, descending to find himself among the servants of the true darkness. And there was great weeping and sadness for it was thought that he was among the dead."

"Sounds creepy if you ask me." Sonic shuddered, glancing over the hieroglyphs all along the chamber.

The shadows seemed almost heavy and alive as they were in the picture. They darted and weaved around the timid light Tikal was releasing, creating imaginary creatures that seemed to lurk and crawl along the walls.

"According to my locator, the other Emeralds are down that tunnel-"

Rouge's voice was suddenly interrupted by a massive rumbling sound in the ground as the entire temple began to rock back and forth like nothing more than a leaf in the wind. A cloud of ancient dust was thrown up into the air, as bits of rubble and rock flew outwards in every direction.

Seeing that an explosion of some sort had disturbed the chamber, the heroes quickly threw themselves down against the cold stone floor to avoid the shards of rock that had nearly impaled them all. Bits and pieces of the picture adorned walls crumbled from the debris, their untouched glory vanishing in just an instant.

Coughing and trying to wipe the dust from their eyes, Sonic and the others cautiously stood, as if expecting the ground would give out from underneath them at any moment.

Standing triumphantly atop the pile of newly created rubble, a pair of ghostly figures stood surveying the destruction they had caused, their cloaks fluttering like the dancing shadows around them.

Each of them held in their outstretched hands the Chaos Emeralds the five heroes had come to retrieve, shimmering rays of multicolored light still managing not to penetrate the shadows of their deep cowls.

"Well, well. What have we here? It looks like some of those whimpering 'heroes' have come to claim the last two emeralds. Two bad we got here first," the robed figure on the left chuckled mockingly, his slow, deep voice imbued with malice.

They stood in a defensive stance, ready for a fight. Sonic cursed under his breath, his plan to snatch the emeralds before Hisaki had failed, they were just minutes too late.

"I'm getting pretty sick of you costumed cowards parading around in your little hoods acting all high and mighty. Why don't you show us who you really are if you're so tough?!" Knuckles bellowed angrily, slamming his fists together in anticipation.

Releasing a fake gasp, the figure raised his hand over what would have been his mouth, as if offended.

"You mean... you mean you don't recognize me? My voice even? After all of the times we met, that's just rude," despite the seeming civility of his words, his tone remained laced with death.

Sonic squinted slightly, a sense of familiarity dawning on him as the cold voice rung mockingly in his ears.

"Fine. I guess we have to do this the melodramatic way," he answered with a sigh.

Slowly reaching upwards, his fingers seeming to move an inch in a minute, the figure reached back into the deep recesses of his cowl, grasping at the edges of the expressionless, ivory mask.

Gasping as though pained to unmask himself, he peeled the mask away from his face with a gentle sigh. Finally lowering the mask, he allowed it to slip idly from his fingers, falling to the floor with a dull thunk.

In breathtaking contrast to his former sluggish pace the flapping black cloak had been ripped free from his body, waving madly from the sudden movement almost like an obsidian flag.

It took the heroes a moment to fully process what they were seeing.

Before them stood an ebony colored hedgehog, his bottom quills turned up rather than down. His limbs and spines were covered in boldly streaking highlights, and a pair of glistening metal air shoes hung from his feet.

The figure appeared exactly identical to Shadow, apart from two details: his highlights were a pale grey color instead of their companion's fiery crimson, and his snake-like eyes were a poisonous shade of sickly green.

"So... who is this guy?" Algos piped up, as the rest stared in shock at encountering their old nemesis once again.

"You're right, the two of us have never been formally introduced, although rest assured, I know all about you, Algos Dragon-bearer. As for me, I am Mephiles the Dark."

"More like Diva," Sonic murmured.

"In other words, this is the creep that caused Shadow to leave in the first place!" Knuckles barked with ever increasing fury, plumes of flame beginning to lap at his forearms.

"Hm, hm, hm... I believe you're thinking of Eclipse... in truth, I'm just the messenger," Mephiles chuckled darkly, before igniting a writhing orb of violet energy within his extended palm, pointing it towards the echidna guardian first, the ivory bat second, before finally stopping on Sonic. "Goodbye, troublesome heroes."

But at the moment it seemed he would unleash his flailing orb of energy, faster than the eye could see, the arm of the other Hisaki agent darted wordlessly out, grasping his wrist like a vice, knuckles cracking with the force as the phantom turned slowly to face his unveiled partner.

"What's wrong, still attached to your former comrades... Shadow?"

* * *

Author's Note: Dun dun dun. Next chapter will be out January 5th as I start Part 2! Let me know how much you hate me for this cliffhanger in your reviews. ;P


	22. Resurrection?

**Chapter 22 - Resurrection?**

A moment of utter stillness, of pregnant silence manifested within the dust filled, expansive room, weighing heavily on them all like the creeping, almost material darkness. Time seemed to be measured not in seconds but in dull, slow pulses of their beating hearts as nobody dared moved a muscle, every pair of eyes fixed upon the hooded figure.

Each finger, one after the other slowly released the phantom's wrist from its vice-like grip, traveling gracefully backwards to quickly remove both mask and robe in a single motion that stood in stark contrast to Mephiles' more dramatic revelation. Staring at them with a look of hauteur and indifference were the once piercing crimson eyes gone dead with emotionless stoicism.

Sonic's breath was an undulating rhythm that sputtered forth in tight, awkward gasps. Blinking slowly, almost as if to ensure his eyes had not deceived him, he realized that his throat felt as parched as the sandy dunes of the Painite desert. He more than any of them was left speechless, unable to react in any definitive way, unsure if he was feeling disbelief, hope, joy, anger, or betrayal, or perhaps what it was that he felt was some as of yet unnamed emotion which no words that exist can describe.

Shadow blinked, at the same time disappearing in a flash of light, before the next moment coming into existence directly behind the motionless, statuesque Sonic, gripping his sword handle tightly.

Taking advantage of their shocked state, he unsheathed the gleaming silvery blade, its wickedly sharp edge screaming in bloodlust as it tore through the air, parting flesh with ease as it poked out the other end of Sonic's soft underbelly, its point dribbling a thick ruby liquid.

Withdrawing it with a single elegant motion, he sighed slightly as he glanced down at Sonic's hunched form, rivulets of hot, scarlet liquid running down from the gaping wound on his back to pool on the hard stone beneath him.

The others finally snapped free from their initial shock, seeing that they would not get any answers and he was intent on attacking them. They shook themselves as best as they could out of their various states of disbelief and charged towards him. Tikal came first, her fist cradling a resplendent silvery orb of light that shot off sparks in every direction, and her normally placid eyes narrowed in suspicion and anger.

Sidestepping her sudden lunge with peerless grace, the obsidian warrior grabbed onto her forearm with his vice-like grip, swinging her in front of him and out of balance. Pulling his body up and into the air, seemingly floating parallel to the floor in a way that looked effortless, he landed a dual kick directly into Tikal's stomach, sending her hurdling unceremoniously across the room like a rag doll.

Screaming in rage, Knuckles swung his fist towards the obsidian warrior with the force of a freight train, narrowly missing as he dodged deftly to his right and slamming into the stone wall behind him, sending spiderweb cracks arcing through the thick rock. Undeterred, the guardian did not let up for a moment, sending punch after punch soaring for the hedgehog, each time narrowly missing making contact, sending gusts of air whistling past his arms from the sheer force of the blows.

Shadow avoided his opponent's ferocious attacks without significant exertion or emotional reaction, watching him coldly and methodically, analyzing his movements. Finally, he seized a moment when a powerful attack left him over-extended, reaching out sharply with his katana, leaving a thin but painful slice in the echidna's well-muscled shoulder.

Algos barreled towards the fray, a cyclone of sand trailing to the ground from his suspended body. With a violent twist of his wrist he willed the stone to grind against itself, transforming the floor beneath Shadow's feet into sand and causing it to crawl up around his ankles.

"As slippery as ever. Well let's see how well you dodge when you can't move your legs!" Knuckles bellowed, a scowl of rage twisting his features.

Again the crimson guardian unleashed a titanic punch towards his enemy, but Shadow somehow managed to twist his entire torso out of the way of the attack, latching onto Knuckles' arms and ripping him to the ground.

Firing the jets on his air shoes in a powerful pulse to shatter the sandy obstruction, he lit a gleaming pulse of energy in his hand and threw it at Algos without a second of hesitation. At the same time he stamped Knuckles into the ground with his foot, a slight smirk of satisfaction pulling at the corners of his lips.

Algos quickly created a wall of sand to absorb the attack, throwing a cloud of scattered and charred dust into the air.

Knuckles had grabbed ahold of the ultimate lifeform's leg, straining against him with all his might. Knowing he would not win in a contest of outright physical strength with the echidna, Shadow wasted no time in plunging his katana through the guardian's chest, earning a tortured scream and a splatter of gushing blood.

Algos and Rouge came at him simultaneously now, each of them hurling attacks at him in quick succession. The sand demon ended his punches and kicks with a swirling whip of prehensile sand, leaving trailing particles falling to the floor in his wake as the floor beneath them twisted and contorted to the sand-wielders will.

Shadow somehow evaded their attacks, sidestepping even the most furious of lunges with relative ease, and for the most part did not seem interested in doing anything other than calmly and dispassionately observing their attempts. He remained so consistent with this strategy that it almost shocked them when he suddenly stepped forward aggressively, punching through Algos' sand whip with a small burst of energy, and reaching up to grasp around the tan colored hedgehog's neck.

Swinging him in front of him as a shield, Shadow forced Algos to absorb the shock of Rouge's force as she bounced off of him from the momentum of her attack. Algos grasped at his attacker's grip desperately, gasping and choking as the world seemed to spin around him.

Suddenly transforming his body into sand, he managed to slip through Shadow's fingers, pooling messily in a pile on the floor.

Reaching into the pocket of his cloak, the ebony avenger retrieved a small metallic device and calmly pressed a red rubber button on its front before tossing it into the puddle of sand.

"A gift, from all of us at Hisaki," he deadpanned, as the device beeped and emitted a faint shockwave of vibrational energy, throwing up a few stray grains of sand.

Algos willed his sand with all his might to form a column, to slam into Shadow with full force and grind his bones to dust, and yet he found that while his consciousness inhabited the sand that lay scattered over the floor, he was no more able to manipulate it than his opponent.

"A vibration at a precise frequency can temporarily disperse the energy you use to manipulate sand particles, and this device continues to emit vibrations at that same frequency. If you recall, Echo used the technique against you," he explained, kicking the sand in front of him irreverently as he stalked towards Rouge, the only remaining opponent facing him.

She had only just gotten up from being bounced off of Algos' back and into a wall, and now had just heard him explain as much as her as to Algos that the sand-wielder was out of the fight. Her head was still spinning slightly from the impact, but overall, she had managed to sustain her attacks so far on pure rage.

Now, as she looked into his eyes, she saw a hollowness, a void of dead emptiness. She thought to herself numbly that she would've been able to tolerate Shadow hating her, scorning her affections, but that what was more agonizing than anything else possibly could was his look of pure, cold indifference.

She stepped towards him, her eyes pleading as she glanced at her fallen companions, some gasping and barely conscious, one knocked unconscious, and one paralyzed within his sand.

Her mouth opened slightly as she tried to find the words to tell him how he had made her feel; she couldn't help but think that even if he did kill her, in a way it would be comforting to think that at least he could never claim to have been ignorant, never claim to have not known what he was doing. In a way, it seemed like if he knew, her feelings, everything she had been through, if she could get through to him, somehow they would mean something.

But dying here, with nothing but a gasp as her final words wasn't her idea of making an indelible mark on her killer.

"We all thought you were dead," she began in the only way she could think of, her voice shaking slightly as she struggled to maintain her wrathful and defiant front, "But now I'm beginning to wish you had been. All this time I held out hope that you might still be alive, that you would survive like you always had... I'm beginning to wonder if anything can kill you. And yet, I can't help but think that even though you survived, you're dead inside. All those years ago, it hurt when you left to get revenge on your brother, it hurt worse than anything I'd ever felt before. But... the pain that I felt when you betrayed us, when you left behind all of your friends... That couldn't even compare to what I felt when I thought that you were dead, when I thought that I would never see you again. But life... has a funny way of taking our worst nightmares and laughing in our faces, of outdoing them. I never could've imagined in my darkest dreams that you had lived, and not only choose to allow us to believe that you had died, but that you had become a part of that which you once hated, which you fought against."

Shadow seemed to be moving in slow motion, pacing silently towards her with his sword raised in preparation, his eyes never once flickering with an emotion of either malice or sentimentality.

**"Don't you see? You spent all that time seeking vengeance on your murderous, stoic brother, and now you've become just like him!"**

Shadow paused for a moment, almost as if taken aback by her words. He stared blankly at her tearstained aquamarine eyes, losing himself momentarily in their sea-like depths.

Finally he had reached her, standing directly in front of her, his burning crimson eyes piercing into her own with the flaming intensity of the sun. He leaned forward until she could feel his hot breath enveloping her, sending goosebumps raging across her flesh.

"...Forget about me," he whispered directly in her ear, so quietly and with such a soulful, pain-filled voice that she wondered if she had not imagined it.

Stepping backwards, he looked into her eyes with an expression that would seem to contradict the sensitive and almost sad tone his voice had just held and thrust his sword cleanly through her shoulder. Trembling, she fell forward, clutching onto him with her last vestige of strength as she slipped down into a black, icy sea of unconsciousness.

Clapping slowly in a mocking fashion, Mephiles stepped forward from the position he had not moved from since they had arrived.

"Bravo Shadow, quite the show," he drawled slowly, almost as if he were savoring the taste of each word as it rolled off his tongue, "Impressive, but unconvincing. A well-trained eye can tell the difference between a fatal stab wound and one which conveniently manages to miss at vital organs - a feat in and of itself, even if deliberate."

"What's your point?" the warrior growled in reply, his sword tip still dripping with a steady rhythm of dark crimson.

"They are all alive, merely incapacitated. So you have done nothing to counter my original question regarding your loyalty."

The two black cloaked wraiths stared at each other in challenge, neither one backing down. At last in response, Shadow grabbed the still barely conscious Knuckles, his teeth gritted in a blood blackened growl.

"This proof enough for you?" he replied coldly, his forearm suddenly glowing with a writhing crimson energy, "Chaos Blast!"

The pulsating ruby energy arced wildly into the echidna's back, searing away flesh and leaving thinly rising tendrils of smoke spiraling upwards from a blasted scorch mark.

Hissing in response, Mephiles' eyes darted towards the entrance to the chamber.

"You've revealed our presence with that blast of energy, I can sense several life energy signatures approaching our position," he scolded, disappearing in an instant with the Chaos Emeralds through a Black Gateway.

After the phantom was gone, Shadow sheathed his sword and approached the fallen Sonic, his hunched form propped up weakly on his hands and knees. Bending down onto one knee, Shadow looked his former friend in the eye.

"Once again, you got lucky, and survived."

And with that, he vanished in a pulsing flash of green energy, leaving the fallen hero staring at an empty space where he had just been. Looking first at his friends scattered through the room and then down at his bloody wound, Sonic's head was swimming as blackness began to creep in on the edges of his blurred vision.

The last thing he was conscious of before drifting off into oblivion was the sound of boots pounding on the ground and GUN soldiers shouting incoherently.


	23. Shadow Returns

**Chapter 23 - Shadow Returns**

* * *

An expansive pane of glass stretched onwards as far as the eye could see, forming a thin transparent wall between the two cloaked figures and the whirring, sparking mass of machines that lay beyond. Their movements were stark and sharp, almost seeming like a sort of desperately jerking marionette dance.

A deep, shroud-like darkness seemed to dance around their mechanical forms, temporarily abated by the periodic flash of an electric arc that filled the hood of the imperious figure with momentary illumination only for heavy shadows to stealthily creep back in the next moment.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he chuckled, his tone trapped in ambivalence somewhere between dark mirth and warm affection, marvelling at the cold industrial spectacle below them, "Almost... poetic."

"I am unable to process the concept of beauty, and I find no special meaning in poetry," Metal Sonic replied flatly, his glowing crimson gaze surveying the robotic soldiers that were being produced in the factory below with equal lifelessness and nonchalance.

Ignoring him, the ivory cloaked leader continued, gesturing towards the machines in a slow, sweeping motion with his hand, as if he were indicating a rolling, idyllic meadow.

"A brave new world in the making... born out of the fires of industry, the crucible of war. Like gold purified by fire, the world will burn... and emerge improved," he sighed slightly, "In a way it does not surprise me that you do not understand. Perhaps none but I can see the art behind the madness."

Silence fell over the two of them for a moment, before it was broken by the sound of a newcomer clearing his throat to gain their attention.

"We have retrieved the last two Chaos Emeralds, as planned," Mephiles announced, while displaying the gems, "We ran into a bit of trouble with a few of the Incarnations, but don't worry, Shadow let them live."

"You sound almost bitter, my friend," the white-robed leader replied challengingly, "Shadow acted as he should've. Do not let your grudge for them interfere with our plans."

Mephiles nodded in response although he almost seemed to be grumbling under his breath.

"Metal, Shadow, please leave the two of us alone," he commanded, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.

"I recognize that killing any of the Incarnations might impede our plans, but you must admit that them being Shadow's former associates complicates matters somewhat," Mephiles countered now that the two lesser Hisaki agents had left.

"That's not what I want to talk to you about," he replied bluntly, "Leave Shadow's loyalty to me."

A momentary look of surprise seemed to pass through Mephiles' eyes before he stepped up to the viewing port to stand side-by-side with the other. "Then... what is it?"

"Our plans are proceeding perfectly. However, for now I think we have everything we need from our adversaries. Until it is time to unleash Hydra, please inform the other Hisaki members that they are not to engage any of the Incarnations. In the meantime, we will continue to prepare our armies for the day of reckoning, and send our agents on missions to improve our finances."

Mephiles' snake-green eyes flitted to the ivory-robed figure and back to the construction line below them.

"I agree. What is our next mission?"

The robed figure turned to face him, his hands reaching out to claim the Chaos Emeralds. "One of our holdings in the south is being threatened."

* * *

The usual quiet and flat bleeps that echoed across the hospital corridors now seemed like cracks of thunder to acquaint the torrential downpour cascading across the land. A dim bedside lamp struggled against the expansive shadows of the hospital room, providing the heroes a small source of light.

Upon returning back to the GUN base, they had been informed of Silver's admittance to the Station Square Royal Hospital, where he had been laying unconscious since his arrival. Green eyes gleamed in the lighting of the room, the twisting, dancing shadows drawing his attention from the sullen looks of his comrades. Neither of them had anything to say at this point, their searching had suddenly become meaningless. All the pain they had experienced had been nothing but a little charade at the hands of Shadow.

Sonic growled to himself quietly, his hands clenching together into tight, menacing fists. The calm and delicate eyes that belonged to Tikal swung over to the blue hero, her heart instantly beginning to ache for her comrade.

_"It is as though those two are connected by the strings of destiny. Each chasing a goal similar, but down roads completely opposite," _Tikal thought to herself, then glanced at Silver, watching his chest rise and fall like the waves in the sea.

"That couldn't have been Shadow," Knuckles remarked through a stifled wince from his wounds.

"How did you make that conclusion, Guardian?" Tikal replied quickly, somewhat taken back by the words. "How could it not have been him?"

"Sonic and Chaos found his body when they left to find Amy!" The echidna erupted as he stood up, knocking his chair over. "Besides, even if that was the real Shadow, he's joined the enemy! He's made his choice over us."

"So you'd just abandon a comrade?" Rouge piped up, annoyance clearly evident in her voice. She too stormed to her feet, beginning to get in Knuckles' face. "I believe wholeheartedly that was him. It had to of been. Are you insinuating that we should just label him an enemy?"

"Isn't that what he's done to us?!" Knuckles fought back, shoving Rouge away from him in a fit of anger.

* * *

Thunder rumbled in the sky, almost vibrating the rain descending from the clouds. Waves grew high into the sky from the violent waters, and then crashed against the cliffs overlooking the ocean, threatening to pull the earth into the depths.

The air shook and trembled from the storm that ripped at the building standing firm at the edge of the forest. The cold wind swept past two figures dressed in Hisaki robes, to which they simply continued forth, unphased by the rain. Walking ahead of his authoritative agent, the figure with gleaming crimson eyes stopped just ahead of the sturdy fortress, staring up into the security camera's that were propped high above near the roof line.

"They'll be sending soldiers out soon, Shadow. Are you sure you're ready?" Mephiles informed with a snicker. "I've become somewhat eager to see the results of all that training we've conducted. You held back quite a bit when you attacked your former comrades."

"We were told not to kill them," the avenger retorted quickly. "Besides...no sense in making an unnecessary mess. Not like you'd know much about discretion."

"I'm starting to wonder whether or not you're truly loyal to Hisaki, Shadow. With remarks like those - "

"Have I given you a reason to doubt me?" Shadow replied quietly, just as lightning turned the sky white for a moment, illuminating the hedgehog's face and malicious scowl. "If it comes to it, I have no problem killing the bunch."

* * *

Knuckles grunted heavily, red liquid spewing from his mouth from the impact of Sonics fist. The echidna toppled to the ground, seething and cursing from the pain. Standing above him, the enraged hedgehog wiped the blood and sweat from his forehead.

"Get ahold of yourself, Knuckles," Sonic barked, his eyes stern and cold. "Shadow … he's not an enemy."

"Are you that naive?!" The emerald guardian shouted and bounded back to his feet, slamming Sonic back into a wall in the process.

The other heroes leapt to interrupt the brawl, but quickly stopped at the sight of the flames gathering around Knuckles, showing that the Phoenix within him had begun to awaken from within the echidna.

"That is quite enough, Guardian!" Tikal shouted sternly, quickly pulling Knuckles away, despite the intense heat emanating from his skin. "We are all comrades! There is no need for us to quarrel like children over a toy!"

"Someone has to knock some sense into that thick-skulled hedgehog!" He snarled, glaring at Sonic from the corner of his eye. "He's so caught up with his crush on that traitor, he's failed to notice that Shadow attacked us earlier! He disappeared, and played us."

"I said that is enough!" Tikal barked back, the power of the Griffon within her pushing against the group. "You're temper is only going to lead to your downfall, Guardian! We've seen what happens when negative energy is mixed with the beasts inside all of you."

Huffing angrily, the echidna stormed out of the hospital room, leaving the heroes in silence. Sonic grumbled, and sat in the chair closest to him, touching the bruise on his cheek gently.

"So, what do we do now?" Tails asked, breaking the tense air.

"For now...I think it would be beneficial if we head back to Angel Island. Visiting hours will be over soon, and we have to prepare for Hisaki's next move. You could all benefit from some training from Lord Chaos and myself."

"What about Shadow?" Rouge asked quietly.

"For now...we have to put our search for him on hiatus. If that really was him, then there's nothing else we can do for Sunshine at this point," Chaos replied with a sigh, and stretched his arms. "Besides, I'm pretty confident it was the Cerberus; those scorch marks on the Big Guy's back? They didn't come from a curling iron."

* * *

Steel beams warped and contorted as sparks flew off them from the blazing crimson heat. The searing hot metal bent inwards, its jagged shards blooming outwards as a molten flower. Daggers of shattered metal flew outwards like darts in every direction, impaling several mercenaries who had been patrolling in the hallway as a cloud of steam filled the space indoors.

"What is it with you and making an entrance?" the first robed figure huffed, stepping through the newly formed gateway into the DarkSky compound.

"You're just jealous of my flair for the dramatic, Shadow," Mephiles replied with a dark chuckle.

The two of them paced down the hallway slowly as the steam unfurled around their feet, clinging to the floors in wisps and tendrils that seemed almost alive. Surprisingly, no alarms were sounding and the whole of the base seemed deathly still.

"I think I can handle this end on my own, why don't you take care of the financier?" Shadow suggested boredly, fingering his katana.

"Right you are. I'll return here once I've taken care of things there in case you need any help mopping up."

With a flash of violet illumination, the phantom had disappeared in a cloud of inky black smoke, leaving behind the solitary form of the dark avenger.

"This is going to be fun."

* * *

_A/N_: Sorry about the ridiculous wait to anybody who is still reading this. I have a problem, I'm going to try to do better.


End file.
